Here are some plans

Detailed Play Plans offers several detailed plans for complex play sets. You can download a prospect of the plans for free in PDF format.

Some very good wooden swing plans are available at all4thekids.com at low prices – most are less than $20 per plan. Their plans include a bill of materials as well.

FREE! This link goes directly a free PDF swing set plan. It’s only one, but asks no money.

Photo by Chickenboots at Flickr

If all you need is to build a simple swing set these plans are exactly what you need and cost only $12 each.

Extraordinary and probably not what you are looking for, but anyway I’d like to share it – this is sold for $9. Honestly I would prefer to swing myself instead of the plans, but everyone is different.

Some cheap plans (most under $10) for canopy and adult swing sets can be found at Woodcraft, and again there. They also have a funny plan for toddler swing.

FREE! Very simple, but free plan that can be printed can be seen here.

If the free plans listed here don’t suit you, better spend few bucks and buy some plans – less than $20 is a good price. Some sell plans for $50+ which in my opinion is a bit too much. But spending hours searching for free swing set plans is not a very good idea – believe me, I have spent enough hours already to find free plans for you.

You can keep an eye to this site and subscribe by RSS because I plan to publish some free plans and more guides on building swing sets here pretty soon.

If you don’t have a swing set yet, you may be first be interested in the types of outdoor swings you may install. If so, you’d better check out the articles about wooden, metal and plastic swings or how you can buy used or build it yourself. But if you already have done that, it’s time to think about the swing set accessories.
If you are looking to buy accessories, go straight to our web store.

The Purpose Of Swing Set Accessories

Most accessories are made for wooden or plastic swings, there is less to add on a metal swing which is another reason to ask yourself twice whether you want to buy such. There are accessories which are especially for kid swing sets (most of them actually) and others who are appropriate only for adult and canopy swings (like pillows for example).

Fun Accessory Ideas

Enough talk, let me give you few examples about fun or useful swing set accessories that you can buy. You can click on the pictures to see them large along with more details about the accessories.

	We spoke about pillows few paragraphs above, so let’s see these pillows for example. The pillows are most appropriate for a hammock swing. They make it not only more comfortable but also a lot more stable and increase the sitting area. With such pillows a large enough hammock can let two adults swinging together at the same time.
	If you have a canopy swing you definitely need a cover. It will protect you and the canopy fabric from sunlight and will let you swing outside even when it’s slowly raining. Most canopy swings come assembled with a cover from the beginning, but it needs to be changed about once per year. The canopy swing covers usually cost between $50 and $150 depending on the quality of the fabric and the guarantee you are getting.
	What if your swing set is primary for kids? No problem, there are some very cool, simple and cheap toys you can add to offer them even more enjoyment. See for example this simple Swing-N-Slide Steering Wheel. Such toys cost $10 – $20 and can give so many new ideas for outdoor play for your children. When buying such a toy, better pick one made of plastic (durable polyethylene) instead of metal, because metal ones may bring you some troubles in case of rust.
	One slightly more expensive but a lot more useful toy is the Swing-N-Slide Climbing Rock. These climbing rocks fits best to wooden swings but there is no real reason (except the look) not to put attach them to a metal or plastic swing set. This accessory will stimulate more physical activity and may help you grow a mountaineer! Well, if nothing else, it’s a lot of fun.
	If you and your children like the idea of more active swinging and combining it with other sports, then Ring/Trapeze Combos are yet another great and very affordable accessory – usually costs just $20 – $30 and can be of such a great help for the kids physical growth. Such rings can be attached to any kind of swing set as long as it is high enough. Of course special attention to safety is required.
	If you have a baby but don’t want to buy a special toddler swing, don’t worry, you can still let it play on the set. There are excellent baby swing accessories that can be attached to the seat or directly to the main beam. The toddler accessories which allow additional protection with a belt or plastic border are much preferred because of the extra safety they provide.
	If you have more kids, gondolas are within the greatest accessories you can buy for their swing set. They are usually made of plastic with carbon steel frame and are appropriate for kids of age 3 and above. The gondolas can be attached to different kind of swing sets, but often only a specific gondola is for only some specific type of swing, so you need to check for compatibility when buying. Usually the gondolas cost $200 – $400 which makes them an expensive accessory.