DIYbanter - View Single Post - Is my swing set gonna be safe, now I'm doubting myself?

wrote:
I've in the middle of building a play/swingset for my kids, and now I'm
second guessing the safety of my design. Since I don't have a huge
amount of space I modified a typical design I've seen around the
internet. First, I secured four 4x4's in the ground w/ cement to make
a 5'x5' "fort/platform" 5' off the ground. I have a 6"x6"x12' that I
plan to use for the swing beam off one side of the fort (I think a 6x6
should be okay for a 12' span from what I've read, if not correct me
here too please). I plan on bolting a 4x6 across 2 of the 4x4's to
support the swing beam. This next part is where I'm starting to worry
that I made a bad choice. Since I didn't want to take up a large
amount of space w/ the traditional A-frame, I put a 6"x6"x12' four feet
into the ground, secured w/ about 300lbs of cement. This gives me my
8' swing beam, which is what I wanted. So my question is, will the
6"x6"x12' that I will use instead of the traditional A-frame be strong
enough at the base to support the swinging?

How obese are your children? You could swing a yearling elephant from
the rig you've described.