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" <t...@hotmail.com> wrote in message 
news:1...@q2g2000vbr.googlegroups.com...
> 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" <t...@hotmail.com> wrote in message 
news:1...@q2g2000vbr.googlegroups.com...
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 <t...@hotmail.com>
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_home/2006/Oct-12-Thu-2006/news/10173800.html

On Mon, 11 May 2009 18:20:03 -0700 (PDT), Mike <t...@hotmail.com>
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

A friend has one about 70 feet long from a tree fort to a light pole.
He has a golf cart tire to stop the trolley before you hit the pole.
It is 1/4" galvanized steel cable with a commercial trolley he bought
online. He pulled it as tight as he could get it with a come along and
used a shackle into chain to hold what he had, then snug it up with a
turnbuckle.

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=A0pm, The Daring Dufas 
> If I had kids, I'd probably be a bit crazier and build
> something like this:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D7-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=A0pm, "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. =A0It was about 15 feet
> > long about 6' off the ground when not being ridden. =A0A steel cable an=
d
> > a zip carrier for the kids to hold on it with a little 2 stair unit at
> > one end. =A0I have to build one now. =A0Anyone ever try this? =A0Surely=
 the
> > hardest part is getting the zip line itself tight enough, yeah. =A0Any
> > tips? =A0I 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 (i=
f
> it can't be slung that far) OR a string attached to the pipe to reel it i=
n.
>
> 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.

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!

Mike