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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these - http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp

When the kids were small we had a commercially bought rig. It came with a
big turnbuckle for tightening.


Charlie

"Mike" wrote in message
...
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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these - http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp

Years ago, a friend of mine built one. I don't have any
photos. Not even sure it's there any more. He was quite
concerned about safety. Had to go up a ladder to get to the
top of the zipline.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Mike" wrote in message
...
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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these -
http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp

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.

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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these - http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp

If I had kids, I'd probably be a bit crazier and build
something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-uJXyPcy4k

TDD

On Mon, 11 May 2009 18:20:03 -0700 (PDT), 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....


Scenic ride offers Boulder City [NV] chance to keep it that way

"The so-called "Greenheart Flightline" would operate like a ski lift
in reverse. Those brave enough to try it would strap themselves into a
harness suspended from a metal cable and slide downhill at speeds
approaching 50 mph."

Oh, the ride crosses a ravine...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_ho.../10173800.html

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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these - http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp

Built many, but I always had the material. CAVT Construction 1/4 strand for
the line. Preforms to attach, Chain Hoist to tighten with a strand grip or
preform in opposite direction.
http://tinyurl.com/pjrxpw

--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.biz/

On May 11, 9:35*pm, The Daring Dufas the-daring-

If I had kids, I'd probably be a bit crazier and build
something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-uJXyPcy4k

TDD

Damn! Imagine that setup on the lip of the Grand Canyon. A real ride
for the thrill seekers!

On May 11, 10:22*pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
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.

In article , Mike wrote:

Thanks Bub and others who responded. I'm gonna start gathering up
what I need to do this project. I'm sure my neighbor (a fantastic
shadetree mechanic) has a turnbuckle or something I can use to get the
tension up where it needs to be. When you're not super handy
yourself, It's good to have a handy neighbor!

I seem to recall seeing turnbuckles in stock at my local Borg.
Also the wire rope, pulleys and more. Take a look -- you may
get some other ideas browsing that aisle.

--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article , Mike wrote:

Thanks Bub and others who responded. I'm gonna start gathering up
what I need to do this project. I'm sure my neighbor (a fantastic
shadetree mechanic) has a turnbuckle or something I can use to get the
tension up where it needs to be. When you're not super handy
yourself, It's good to have a handy neighbor!

I seem to recall seeing turnbuckles in stock at my local Borg.
Also the wire rope, pulleys and more. Take a look -- you may
get some other ideas browsing that aisle.

If using turnbuckles be sure they're forged loops, not those that are
simply turned ends that can unroll...

--

On May 12, 2:33*pm, dpb wrote:
Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article , Mike wrote:

Thanks Bub and others who responded. *I'm gonna start gathering up
what I need to do this project. *I'm sure my neighbor (a fantastic
shadetree mechanic) has a turnbuckle or something I can use to get the
tension up where it needs to be. *When you're not super handy
yourself, It's good to have a handy neighbor!

I seem to recall seeing turnbuckles in stock at my local Borg.
Also the wire rope, pulleys and more. Take a look -- you may
get some other ideas browsing that aisle.

If using turnbuckles be sure they're forged loops, not those that are
simply turned ends that can unroll...

--

When I was a kid, we used a rope from the treehouse to the pool fence
when the parents weren't home, and an old pair of bicycle handlebars
turned upside down to slide with. I'm amazed all of us survived, but
it sure was fun.

Mike wrote:

When I was a kid, we used a rope from the treehouse to the pool fence
when the parents weren't home, and an old pair of bicycle handlebars
turned upside down to slide with. I'm amazed all of us survived, but
it sure was fun.

Yeah me to, specially because the government wasn't meddling in our business
forcing us to wear helmets while climbing trees, riding bikes, skating,
skate boarding, and riding horses. Geeeez, here its against the law to have
a tree house!!! Were producing a bunch of fairies thanks to our government.

--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.biz/

On Tue, 12 May 2009 14:29:47 -0700, evodawg wrote
Re Anyone ever build a zip line for your kids?:

Yeah me to, specially because the government wasn't meddling in our business
forcing us to wear helmets while climbing trees, riding bikes, skating,
skate boarding, and riding horses. Geeeez, here its against the law to have
a tree house!!! Were producing a bunch of fairies thanks to our government.

Which is one of the reasons that the Muslims are kicking our ass.

Mike wrote:
On May 12, 2:33 pm, dpb wrote:
Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article , Mike wrote:
Thanks Bub and others who responded. I'm gonna start gathering up
what I need to do this project. I'm sure my neighbor (a fantastic
shadetree mechanic) has a turnbuckle or something I can use to get the
tension up where it needs to be. When you're not super handy
yourself, It's good to have a handy neighbor!
I seem to recall seeing turnbuckles in stock at my local Borg.
Also the wire rope, pulleys and more. Take a look -- you may
get some other ideas browsing that aisle.
If using turnbuckles be sure they're forged loops, not those that are
simply turned ends that can unroll...

--

When I was a kid, we used a rope from the treehouse to the pool fence
when the parents weren't home, and an old pair of bicycle handlebars
turned upside down to slide with. I'm amazed all of us survived, but
it sure was fun.

It's amazing how many of us who were born
in the middle of the last century have
survived into adulthood, except me, I've
never grown up. *snicker*

TDD

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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these - http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp


This one's a lot cheaper:

http://www.byoswingset.com/funridfunrid.html

We've used one of these for about ten years in one of our our sensory
integrative therapy rooms. We only have about a 15 foot run there
located over gym pads on the floor. It's held up fine all that time.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article , Mike wrote:

Thanks Bub and others who responded. I'm gonna start gathering up
what I need to do this project. I'm sure my neighbor (a fantastic
shadetree mechanic) has a turnbuckle or something I can use to get the
tension up where it needs to be. When you're not super handy
yourself, It's good to have a handy neighbor!

I seem to recall seeing turnbuckles in stock at my local Borg.
Also the wire rope, pulleys and more. Take a look -- you may
get some other ideas browsing that aisle.

Be cautious using any rigging from the Borg for anything that could get
somebody killed if it snaps or shatters. Their stuff is not man-rated.
If the rig you use has a single fitting holding the rider's weight, best
to buy those parts at a sporting goods or safety equipment store. (no
idea if lineman equipment is better or more expensive than mountain
climber stuff.)

--
aem sends...

aemeijers wrote:

Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article
, Mike
wrote:

Thanks Bub and others who responded. I'm gonna start gathering up
what I need to do this project. I'm sure my neighbor (a fantastic
shadetree mechanic) has a turnbuckle or something I can use to get the
tension up where it needs to be. When you're not super handy
yourself, It's good to have a handy neighbor!

I seem to recall seeing turnbuckles in stock at my local Borg.
Also the wire rope, pulleys and more. Take a look -- you may
get some other ideas browsing that aisle.

Be cautious using any rigging from the Borg for anything that could get
somebody killed if it snaps or shatters. Their stuff is not man-rated.
If the rig you use has a single fitting holding the rider's weight, best
to buy those parts at a sporting goods or safety equipment store. (no
idea if lineman equipment is better or more expensive than mountain
climber stuff.)

--
aem sends...
I was a lineman and I wouldn't trust anything anyone has suggested here. I
would only support this line with the proper strand tension hardware and
equipment. Turn buckles and snap rings just don't cut it. Specially crap
made in China!

--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.biz/

On May 12, 5:29*pm, evodawg wrote:
Yeah me to, specially because the government wasn't meddling in our business
forcing us to wear helmets while climbing trees, riding bikes, skating,
skate boarding, and riding horses. Geeeez, here its against the law to have
a tree house!!! Were producing a bunch of fairies thanks to our government.

wrote:

On May 12, 5:29Â*pm, evodawg wrote:
Yeah me to, specially because the government wasn't meddling in our
business forcing us to wear helmets while climbing trees, riding bikes,
skating, skate boarding, and riding horses. Geeeez, here its against the
law to have a tree house!!! Were producing a bunch of fairies thanks to
our government.

Yes, thanks to all the fair weather conservatives who turn into
facists the second something happens to them or their children.

I would bet you the bicycle helmet laws were petitioned for and
enacted by staunch conservatives whose attitude was "Let 'em bash
their heads open a few times. They'll learn," until the day their
precious little package cracked their skull open on a sidewalk. Then
all of a sudden it was, "There should be a law against that!"

Yeah, we're creating a nation of pansies, but not because of the
liberals. It's the hypocrites who preach personal responsibility until
they're affected, then they want the government to step in and fix it
for them.

Big business, big banking has always been the conservative base. Who
were the first ones crying to the government with their hands out when
times got tough? Oh, and what party did the US President belong to
that signed the first bailout checks?

Hmmmm, sounds like another big government spend and tax us into oblivion
Obama let me kiss your feet constituent..
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.biz/

"evodawg" wrote in message
...
wrote:

On May 12, 5:29 pm, evodawg wrote:
Yeah me to, specially because the government wasn't meddling in
our
business forcing us to wear helmets while climbing trees, riding
bikes,
skating, skate boarding, and riding horses. Geeeez, here its
against the
law to have a tree house!!! Were producing a bunch of fairies
thanks to
our government.

Yes, thanks to all the fair weather conservatives who turn into
facists the second something happens to them or their children.

I would bet you the bicycle helmet laws were petitioned for and
enacted by staunch conservatives whose attitude was "Let 'em bash
their heads open a few times. They'll learn," until the day their
precious little package cracked their skull open on a sidewalk.
Then
all of a sudden it was, "There should be a law against that!"

Yeah, we're creating a nation of pansies, but not because of the
liberals. It's the hypocrites who preach personal responsibility
until
they're affected, then they want the government to step in and
fix it
for them.

Big business, big banking has always been the conservative base.
Who
were the first ones crying to the government with their hands out
when
times got tough? Oh, and what party did the US President belong
to
that signed the first bailout checks?

Hmmmm, sounds like another big government spend and tax us into
oblivion
Obama let me kiss your feet constituent..
--
NOPE, just another dick head.
Bob-tx

wrote:
On May 12, 5:29 pm, evodawg wrote:
Yeah me to, specially because the government wasn't meddling in our business
forcing us to wear helmets while climbing trees, riding bikes, skating,
skate boarding, and riding horses. Geeeez, here its against the law to have
a tree house!!! Were producing a bunch of fairies thanks to our government.

Yes, thanks to all the fair weather conservatives who turn into
facists the second something happens to them or their children.

I would bet you the bicycle helmet laws were petitioned for and
enacted by staunch conservatives whose attitude was "Let 'em bash
their heads open a few times. They'll learn," until the day their
precious little package cracked their skull open on a sidewalk. Then
all of a sudden it was, "There should be a law against that!"

Yeah, we're creating a nation of pansies, but not because of the
liberals. It's the hypocrites who preach personal responsibility until
they're affected, then they want the government to step in and fix it
for them.

Big business, big banking has always been the conservative base. Who
were the first ones crying to the government with their hands out when
times got tough? Oh, and what party did the US President belong to
that signed the first bailout checks?

The Federal government is organized into three separate branches. The
executive has no Constitutional authority to "sign checks". Only
Congress has the authority to do so. Congress has complete control of
the treasury. The democrats had control of Congress for two years prior
to the last presidential election. They simply "signed the bailout
checks" without question using your expression. Bottom line is both
political parties are owned and have been for a long time by the groups
that have the funds to lobby them and buy them off.

If you have a problem with the first "bailout checks" the blame rests
solely on the shoulders of Pelosi and Barnie and friends.

On May 12, 7:10*pm, jeff_wisnia
wrote:
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....

Mike

P.S. Expensive kits these -http://www.railrunnerzipline.com/products.asp

This one's a lot cheaper:

http://www.byoswingset.com/funridfunrid.html

We've used one of these for about ten years in one of our our sensory
integrative therapy rooms. We only have about a 15 foot run there
located over gym pads on the floor. It's held up fine all that time.

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.

Thinking again about the zip line idea....if I buy a 150' kit, how
easy (or wise) would it be to try to cut the cable and have 2 zip
lines? Of course, additional hardware would be required. Bad idea?
That cord HAS to be tough to cut.

Mike

On May 11, 9:20*pm, Mike wrote:

Thanks for any info....


Okay, don't let any neighbor kids ride it unless their parents sign a
liability waiver.