Ideas needed for back yard swing set base
 

Hello Gents,
I have a small crew of family members coming over this weekend to assemble a large swing set. I cannot come up with a cost effective base to set the thing on! I'm wondering if you can help?!?! Here's the project scope:

Criteria
-something free or very cheap
-something that will be weed proof
-something that I can mow over/around (so ground level??)
-something somewhat maintenance free

Tools at my disposal
-Yanmar diesel tractor with blade, rototiller, and 900lb roller
-shovels, picks, axe, chainsaw, garage full of the usual tools
-endless supply of trees - we live in the middle of the woods
-small crew of guys
-small children
-cold beer

The ground is currently flat. 90% sun throughout the day. Located in NW PA.

My thoughts were to till the entire area plus some; remove a few inches of dirt/sod; line with landscape fabric; build unit; back fill with free wood chips from the municipality. What do I do about a border I can mow around and over eliminating the need to weed trim?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions
swing-set swingset

Anchoring would depend on what your building and how perminent it will be.
The boarder, I would install treated 4x6 level with the lawn with the fabric under it so weeds don't sneak up around the edges.

Thanks Neal. I dug up about 3-4" of ground last night and plan on taking your advice with the 4x6" border and landscape fabric.

would wood chips be a good filler for this area? My wife is concerned about bare feet and having them everywhere. I reminded her we live in the middle of the woods and that I mow the yard : ) Is there any other free or cheap filler particulate that I could use?

I couldn't get the image uploader to work, so here is a link to the picasa project album:
https://picasaweb.google.com/thegogetter222/1982Yanmar165d16hp4x4Diesel#5729595858342572658

Thanks again!

I am not a fan of wood chips or bark mulch over fabric, after a few years it will turn into to wonderful dirt, weeds and all. But I don't have a better suggestion. I have seen what we call pee gravel, which is 1/4" round stone but it is hard to walk in.

Use decomposed granite put it on your fabric. You will need to compact it, but it looks good and can last a long time.

The landscaper working around here right now is using a fabric like the one in this link, it's really thick and about 6 ft wide and it is really strong and not easy to cut.

http://www.nilex.com/products/geotextiles