Mike wrote:
Hey all....I was at a party at a friend's house on Saturday and they
had a zip line for their kids in the backyard. It was about 15 feet
long about 6' off the ground when not being ridden. A steel cable and
a zip carrier for the kids to hold on it with a little 2 stair unit at
one end. I have to build one now. Anyone ever try this? Surely the
hardest part is getting the zip line itself tight enough, yeah. Any
tips? I have lots of trees and am thinking about doing a really long
one, maybe 70-80 feet.

Thanks for any info....


Did as a kid. Forget the fancy "kit." You need:

* Some length of wire rope
* Someway to secure the ends.
* A turnbuckle to increase the tension
* A hunk of pipe that fits over the cable.
* A lot of axle grease.
* A bamboo fishing pole to scoot the pipe back to the starting station (if
it can't be slung that far) OR a string attached to the pipe to reel it in.

These are lots of fun, especially if you:
a) Have to climb a tree to get to the starting point, and
b) The path takes you over a stream.