Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

These brackets are very sturdy and keep you from having to cut much (perhaps any) wood. For me, the 4x4s slipped easily into their holes. I used 10' 4x4s. Because there is wiggle room on the 4x4s, it is possible to bolt them down and have one A-frame be considerably wider or narrower than the 2nd A-frame (assuming you are buying two of these to make a traditional A-frame swing). I put a cross piece between the legs on each side using the same length 2x6 wood at the same distance from the bottom of the legs. That way I knew both A-frames had their legs the same distance apart. I wanted to add the cross brace anyway for a little more reinforcement. I cut the cross brace so the ends had the same angle as the legs. If you didn't use a cross brace, you wouldn't have to cut any wood at all. The 4x6 didn't have as much play, but slid on easily. The 2nd bracket had the weight of the legs pulling on it so I couldn't slide the 4x6 through by hand. A rubber mallet had it easily moving down the 4x6 though. With the 10' legs, it took some effort to stand it up. I tried by myself at first, but eventually my wife helped and we had it standing up. I am glad I went with 10' legs as I wanted that extra height to get a nice big arc for more thrilling swinging. I highly recommend securing the legs into the ground with some method. I went with concrete. I had several people caution me against putting the legs in the ground because they can rot fairly quickly. I used Simpson CBSQ44-SDS2 4x4 holders that let you sink a metal "U" shape in the concrete and then provide a metal plate for the 4X4 to sit on on. They are pricey, but worked out nice. I sank them in the concrete at an angle so the metal plate met the 4x4 legs squarely. Now that the legs are in concrete, the swing set is very stable. It is up to you to decide how long you want the 4x4s for the legs and 4x6 for the main beam. I think 10' is great for the legs (actual height will be a little less due to the angle they are at). 8' wood be OK. If you put the legs in the ground, you would have to subtract that from the height. For the 4x6, I saw a wide range of recommendations from no longer than 8 feet to up to 12 feet. I found several commercially made swingsets/kits that used a 12' 4x6 so I went with 12' and I am glad I did. 12 feet gets used up quickly with a few hanging items. The legs of the A-frame angle out (not just to make the A-shape, but also in the "outside" direction). This makes it so you can hang a swing on the 4x6 right at the bracket and have plenty of side to side room so you don't hit the legs while swinging and you get a little sideways. I put a rope right in the middle of my 4x6 and put all my 240 pounds on the rope. I couldn't see the 4x6 bend at all. That gives me confidence that three kids swinging (even with their dynamic load) would not stress the 12' 4x6. Overall I think these are excellent brackets. They are a little pricey since you have to buy two, but they are built well and make swing construction easy. Edit: over a year later these are still working great. I added some monkey bars next to the swing set and touched up the stain (Behr 3330 stain/paint Redwood color) on the swing when I stained the monkey bars. Picture added.