Seesaw Balancer
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The Seesaw Balance is a fun element for children to run along and test out their balancing skills. You will need 2.5 and 1.5””3mm mild steel pipe, chequer plate, a large tyre, small tyres, 6” bolts, metal and budget paint.. There is no need for cement as you can compact the earth to form the foundation around the tyres. Make sure you have at least 1.5 metres of space around the seesaw.
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Per seesaw balance 2.5� 3mm mild steel pipe 2mm chequer plate 6� bolts with 2 washers Large tyre Small tyre 3� bolts and washers (per end)
Amount 20ft 1ft by 8ft 2 1 3 4
How to build 1. We the seesaw frames with check plate on top 2. Connect the 4 (or more) tyres to the 4 (or more) seesaws using 2 dome headed bolts per connection point. Drill 2 holes perpendicular the sidewall of the tyre and hammer the bolts through. 3. Get enough people so that you can lift and arrange all the tyre/plank pieces into whatever angles you want and make sure there is a 9 inch gap minimum between the planks. 4. When you are happy with the arrangement, Mark the holes required for the tyres on the ground with a stick. 5. Move the tyres and dig the holes down so that only a quarter or less of the tyre is out of the ground. You can adjust this height depending on the skill and age of the children. A higher seesaw means more movement, Lower seesaws mean less movement. NOTE: this element is not necessarily a balancing element but more of a team element and thus only a little movement is required. If it moves too much, children will be less likely to play on it for fear a larger child will catapult them off the element. 6. Once you are happy with the placement fill in the holes and pack hard with soil. 7. To create the tread connections. Remove the sidewalls from a tyre with a utility knife taking care not to cut into the tread and expose the wires. You will now have a tyre tread loop. 8. Press the tread loop flat with your foot and cut through the Rubber tread down to the steel belt where the tread is folded most. 9. Using a grinder with a thin metal grinding disc, gently cut through the steel layers. Use water to cool the rubber and stop smoke. Now you have one long tread strip. 10. Using this tread strip, cut it to create a piece of tyre tread long enough to cover the gap and planks to add 4 bolts to each end. 11. Using the grinder, run it along the cut ends of the tread strip to remove any steel wires protruding from the end of the tread until it is completely smooth to touch. 12. Drill and bolt the tread strip to the planks with enough slack in the tread to allow the seesaw movement. 13. Paint..
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Colour Scheme Paint the tyres one colour Pain the metal one colour Paint the treads one colour Paint footprints on the metal balancer Foundations
4ft
4ft
Foundations will depend on the size of your large and small tyres
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