I was initially concerned about the flex and altered the rod accordingly, however, I didn't play with the swing in SketchUp and only found it snafu'ed after assembly. Should have been something like,
That centre brace handles any potential flex as just a tad too much pressure would break the lead before a flex. Also keeping the brace in place is subject to extra downward pressure with the left hand.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD