Portable Adult-Sized See Saw That You Can Build

Portable, Adult*Sized See Saw that You Can Build

The See Saw! Remember that beloved giver of sore rear ends. The see saw seems to have gone out of style on many American playgrounds. It's been replaced by trendier things made of rope and plastic. But the see saw is a classic part of playground fun that should not be forgotten. In honor of building unique stuff from pipe and fittings, the last two years of the Rochester Mini Maker Faire have featured our very own portable see saw. This apparatus was enjoyed by young and old alike (I believe the adults who used it definitely had more fun than the kids!)

 

We wanted to show you how to build your own portable see saw if you got the hankering to bring the fun to your hometown. Just a bit of warning from the beginning...this isn't going to be cheap. If you're looking for an inexpensive project, then I'd go for a board and a few couplings. This see saw is fit for adults of all sizes and will most likely surive a nucular bomb explosion.

So let's dig into this magical playground device the deserves to comeback!

Here's the basic diagram along with labels on the fittings. This will show you where everything goes.


Portable, Adult*Sized See Saw that You Can Build


Here's a list of the fittings and pipe that you'll need to build this project:

Kee Klamps

12 x 10-8
12 x 15-8
2 x 20-8
2 x 45-8
2 x 75-8
4 x P50-8

Size 8 Gator Tube Pipe

2 x Cut at 156"
2 x Cut at 48"
2 x Cut at 28"
3 x Cut at 18"
4 x Cut at 34"
4 x Cut at 12"
4 x Cut at 6"

 

Now that you've got the overview, let's dig into the specifics.

The A Frame


Portable, Adult*Sized See Saw that You Can Build

The hinging mechism is simple. It's just a couple of 45-8 Crossover fittings that are tighted on the cross beam. To keep the unit from squeaking (metal on metal tends to do that) we put some grease inside the fittings on the end and let the horizontal support rotate inside the end fittings (see the video below). That worked really well. The collar fittings are there to hold the see saw in place on the horizontal bar and keep it from drifting back and forth.

 
 

The Base


Portable, Adult*Sized See Saw that You Can Build

Portable, Adult*Sized See Saw that You Can Build

You can see from the pictures above that there were two versions of the base. The first year we did four simple legs that came down. We beefed up the base in year two because the four leg version shifted when it was used. If you were mounting this somewhere permanently, you could simplify this a great deal. To be honest, the whole base is seriously overbuilt because we wanted to ensure that it would stay put when people were see sawing.

The Seats & Handle


Portable, Adult*Sized See Saw that You Can Build

The seats were made with a piece of plywood that was well sanded around the edges. They were attached to the see sawing pipes with a nifty little fitting called the P50. This fitting allows you to attach the plywood seat flush with the rest of the fittings on the end of the see saw.

We built in a handle so that people could hold on for dear life. If you were trying to cut cost, you could probably do something simpler and attach it to the plywood.

What Could You Do with a Portable See-Saw?

What couldn't you do! This type of thing would be great at festivals and fairs where a permanent structure would not be ideal. The Kee Klamp fittings are easy to setup and take down. This unit takes about 30 minutes to put together and another 20 minutes to pull apart. Then just put it in a van, and you're all set!

You could easily modify this design to be permanet to outfit a childrens playground or a fun urban fixture.

Have questions? Contact us at projects@simplifiedbuilding.com about this project or a fun project of your own!

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