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Porch Swing Also Turns 360 Degrees
Fred Churchman jokes that he designed his swing because he gets nervous about alligators sneaking up behind him at his Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home. But his curiosity as a lifelong inventor and the need to know what is going on around him is the real motive for creating his 360-degree yard and porch swings.

    The design is simple, according to the retired vocational education instructor. A stationary frame built of 2 1/2-in. dia. pipe is cemented to the ground or mounted to solid ceiling beams on a porch. A pivot is welded to the frame and attached to a smaller 2-in. horizontal pipe, which has chains attached to the swing.

    "The chains reach out to the side of the arm rest," Churchman says.

    With the pivot frame perfectly centered, the swing stays level, even if just one person is on it at one end, Churchman says. His swings are also designed so they don't swing fast like a merry-go-round.

    People don't like to twist their necks around to see who is coming up behind them, Churchman says. His swing makes it easy to turn in every direction.

    He's in the process of patenting it, adding to his 12 other patents. But Churchman says he wouldn't mind seeing others build them for their own use.

    Contact: Fred Churchman, 451 Maxine Dr., Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808.


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2007 - Volume #31, Issue #5