Do-it-yourself Carousel For A Playground - Instructions With Drawings, Dimensions, Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

How to make a carousel for kids with your own hands

So that children do not get bored in a country house, you can independently make and install a carousel on the site. Not so much materials and efforts are required, and children and their friends will be happy.

Content

• 1 Types of carousels for playgrounds

  • 1.1 Classification of carousels by drive type

  • 1.2 Types of carousels depending on the design

    • 1.2.1 Photo Gallery: Carousel Views
    • 1.2.2 Video: a rotating swing carousel with do-it-yourself seats

• 2 Choosing the type of future carousel, tips and calculations

  • 2.1 Step by step instructions

    2.1.1 Photo Gallery: Number of Handrails

  • 2.2 Finishing the finished carousel
• 3 Nuances of care
• 4 Video: do-it-yourself rotating carousel with two handrails
• 5 Video: original carousel for children

Types of carousels for playgrounds

Small, simple mechanical carousels have been loved by all generations. All Soviet playgrounds were equipped with them. It is practically a safe and fun ride. As a rule, they are also present in modern municipal playgrounds - in parks and between houses - and in kindergartens.

Carousel classification by drive type

1. Electric carousels are mainly used in amusement parks. They are powerful, designed for many seats, but require serious installation and maintenance costs and consume a lot of electricity.

   

   Large and heavy electric driven chain carousel installed in amusement parks

2. Mechanical carousels, driven by the muscular efforts of the riders, can be installed anywhere. Their main advantage is safety.

   

   Gravel is used as the base for the carousel

Types of carousels depending on the design

Interestingly, the types of carousels are clearly ranked by GOST under the name "Equipment for children's playgrounds". All these carousels use a metal axle on which one or more bearings are located for smooth and silent rotation of the mechanism.

1. "Swivel chairs" (VC) or radial carousel. It does not have a solid platform, but is equipped with seats (or handrails) rigidly connected to a support structure located on the central axis. Dignity - material savings; disadvantage - metal fatigue accumulates much more and the carousel itself is much heavier.

   

   According to the drawing, you can determine the territory required to build a carousel

2. "Revolving platform" (VP) or disc carousel. The classic VP consists of a solid platform on which the seats are located closer to the perimeter or to the axis.

   

   Classic VP equipped with seats

3. Simplified VP - only with handrails.

   

   Simplified version without seats is easy to make yourself

4. Combined VP - with handrails and seats. The advantage is the simplicity of the design. Disadvantage - wooden parts, with insufficient processing, are prone to rotting and frequent replacement.

   

   The wooden parts of the carousel need careful treatment against rotting and vermin

5. "Rotating mushroom": this attraction is equipped with handrails in the form of a ring, which are rigidly fixed at the bottom of the rotating structure, or hanging hand grips. Dignity - the carousel perfectly develops a child's strength, agility, and grasp. The disadvantage is that it is quite traumatic.

   

   A carousel equipped with only hand grips is not entirely safe

6. "Gliding in the air" (chained): the seats are suspended on flexible elements (often chains) from the bottom of the rotating structure. The advantage is great pleasure while riding. The disadvantage is that it is the most traumatic structure, besides, it requires the largest platform due to the spread of the seats when rotating.

   

   Planning in the air carousel can also be made by hand, but it will require a large area

7. "Driving on a circular track": children drive themselves along a circular track. Bicycle drive is used. Dignity - an excellent carousel for the little ones. The disadvantage is the complexity of implementation.

   

   This modern Japanese device will be difficult to build on your own.

8. Large rotating disc: The axis is tilted, the large platform rotates due to gravity as children crawl over it. Dignity - develops strength, agility, grasp. Disadvantage - in addition to bearings, it needs a strong spring with a large diameter, which is extremely difficult to find in home construction of a carousel.

   

   The principle of operation of such a carousel lies in the torque of the structural elements fixed on the axis

Photo gallery: types of carousels

Probably all carousels once started with a simple old design

Simple carousel with swivel chairs - an extremely economical solution for a playground

The carousel can be installed both in the courtyard of a multi-storey residential building, and in a private one, as well as in the country

Single seat "revolving platform" is easy to assemble and install

The main advantage of the carousel is a strong and reliable metal frame

The creator of the carousel clearly had ready-made circles made of metal pipes.

This type of chain carousel needs an electric drive

Simple, non-powered chain carousel can be installed in the playground

The carousel trains the child's balance and coordination. Children actively throw out their energy, strengthening physical health, stimulating the imagination. Therefore, it is necessary to have a carousel in the yard of your own house. And it is quite possible to do it yourself.

Video: rotating swing carousel with do-it-yourself seats

Choosing the type of the future carousel, tips and calculations

We chose for the manufacture the simplest mechanical carousel with a platform and handrails, no seats; took into account the ergonomics and the load on all elements.

The main structural elements of the carousel - the axis and the turntable

Tools:

• garden drill;
• capacity for diluting cement;
• drill with the option of tightening screws;
• welding machine;
• files, sandpaper.

The following details and source materials will be needed (we give approximate characteristics, options are possible):

• two bearings 80110 (bore diameter of the inner ring - 50 mm, outer ring - 80 mm, bearing width - 16 mm);
• pipe 12X18H10T;
• three pieces 25x6 (outer diameter - 25 mm, wall thickness - 6 mm) 1555 mm long;
• one piece 50x7 1150 mm long;
• one piece 90x7 109 mm long;
• six segments of a rectangular pipe with section 80x40x4 560 mm long;
• one cotter pin 4x63 (diameter - 4 mm, length - 63 mm);
• three sheets of moisture-resistant plywood 20x604x1083 mm (wood, plastic, chipboard, and fiberboard can be used, but the density of the coating must be high);
• one steel strip 4x100 (thickness - 4 mm, width - 100 mm) 3952 mm long;
• plywood impregnation - antiseptic, insecticidal or water-repellent;
• primer - acrylic, alkyd, epoxy or shellac.

Step-by-step instruction

1. Having decided on the place, they mark the central point of the future structure. The cleared, tamped or paved place should be two and a half times the diameter of the future carousel.

   

   The ratio of the circumference of the carousel to the space for it should be approximately 1: 2.5

2. We dig a hole 1 m deep with a diameter exceeding the diameter of the axis by 15-20 mm. It is better to do this with a garden hand drill.

   

   A simple hand drill will save a lot of effort

3. We dilute the cement mortar: one part of cement into two parts of sand.
4. The axis, using a plumb line or level, is placed strictly vertically in the hole and strengthened; most often it is done with cobblestones.
5. Fill the well with a solution.
6. We are waiting for about three days. The cement sets. There is no need to rush into installation, since the strength of the entire mechanism under load will only be provided by a frozen filling.
7. We assemble the axis from five parts.

The carousel axis consists of five parts: 1 - axis (tube 50 x 7); 2 - lower bearing; 3 - central bushing; 4 - upper bearing; 5 - locking sleeve; 6 - cotter pin

Here are the dimensions.

When assembling the axle, you must observe the dimensions

Consider a drawing of the bearing housing with applied dimensions.

We use bearing units in the design

The rotation unit consists of three parts.

The base of the carousel platform is assembled from the following parts: 1 - bearing housing (tube 90 x 7); 2 - rectangular pipe 80x40x4; 3 - handle (pipe 25 x 6)

All parts are welded according to the drawing. The durability and safety of the carousel will directly depend on the quality of the welds. Parts must be well welded, without protruding burrs that can injure children. When assembling and welding, rectangular pipes should protrude from the upper edge of the bearing housing by 10 millimeters. If you (quite possibly) do not have a welding machine and do not know how to weld metal, you can hire a welder. The work is quite small.

The turntable platform also consists of five parts.

The platform consists of parts: 1 - rotation unit; 2 - handle (pipe 25 x 6); 3 - floor covering sector (moisture resistant plywood 20 x 604 x 1083); 4 - strip 4 x 100; 5 - cover

The figure shows the dimensions of the turntable.

All dimensions must also be taken into account when assembling the turntable

We put on the axle and fasten the lower bearing and the central bushing. We attach the rotation unit to the lower bearing, the upper bearing to the axle. We try to center the rotation unit on the bearing. We fix the resulting locking sleeve with a hole, where we insert the cotter pin. Gently unbend his antennae.

Photo gallery: number of handrails

Making a carousel with two handrails is easy

A carousel with three handrails will generate more interest for children

Six handrails - very convenient for a large company

Finishing the finished carousel

1. We drill holes. With self-tapping screws for metal (or in another way) we fix the floor covering with handrails already mounted on it on the rotation unit.
2. Cover the end of the coating with a steel strip. We fix it with self-tapping screws with a press washer (or in another way).
3. In the center of the coating there is a hole with a bearing unit in it. We close it with a circle of plywood and fix it.

4. We will prepare the handrails and the floor covering for painting: we will clean and treat the coating with a wood preservative, prime the handrails, the axle and the coating with a primer for wood and metal, respectively, in order to increase the adhesion of the finish paint. We will paint in cheerful colors that are so loved by both kids and their parents.

   

   The base of the structure is best concreted for stability.

The nuances of care

In order for the carousel to always rotate easily, its rotation mechanism (bearings) must be constantly lubricated, for this it is better to use viscous antifreezes and nigrols. Other parts need to be painted on time. It is advisable to pack it in foil for the winter. This will not protect against moisture in the air, but will protect against snow and rain.

Video: do-it-yourself rotating carousel with two handrails

Video: original carousel for children

With very little effort, you can please your children with a bright and comfortable carousel. And if you follow the simple rules of care, the attraction will give you a holiday for a long time.