I'm sure someone will be able to ID this for me (SOLVED)

[Steve in PA]

I found this at an old house site (now gone) that has given up buttons and coins from the 1820s to 1910. Most of the relics seem to be from the 1830's to 1870s.

I believe I have seen this thing before. Obviously a wooden rod went into it. The dimensions are 2 5/8 inches long and 15/16" diameter at the open end. The diameter seems to be too small to be flagstaff related. I'm sure someone here knows exactly what it is.

[creskol]

it is a broken whiffletree tip

[Steve in PA]

it is a broken whiffletree tip

I knew you would know Rob. Don't you have an advertisement showing a wiffletree?

[creskol]

it is a broken whiffletree tip

I knew you would know Rob. Don't you have an advertisement showing a wiffletree?

Not really an advertisement, but a photo of an old hearse from New Orleans. Shows the whiffletrees, but the tips are a bit different from yours though.

[Bigcypresshunter]

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[Steve in PA]

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That's the ad I was looking for. It's all coming back to me now. I knew I had seen this thing before.

[creskol]

Sorry Steve.. I thought you wanted to see a whiffletree and not just the tips. I have quite a few ads showing tips.

[Bigcypresshunter]

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That's the ad I was looking for. It's all coming back to me now. I knew I had seen this thing before.

Sorry Steve.. I thought you wanted to see a whiffletree and not just the tips. I have quite a few ads showing tips.

post it.

[creskol]

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That's the ad I was looking for. It's all coming back to me now. I knew I had seen this thing before.

Sorry Steve.. I thought you wanted to see a whiffletree and not just the tips. I have quite a few ads showing tips.

post it.

I am not sure what the point of going through all the books to find them at this point would be, BC .. Yours pretty well shows the tips and cockeyes that match, and anything else would be redundancy.

[BosnMate]

OK, here we go, I'm in a different part of the country, so that could make a big difference in terms, but what you are calling a whiffle tree, I'd call a double tree. What I call a whiffle tree is the tree located on the bar between the shafts for a single horse, which could very well have exactly the same tips on it. Just talking terminology.

[GpSnoopy]

I also find the changing terminology confusing when searching many sites. Here are a couple of definitions from online dictionary sources, as well as an interesting link.
http://www.precisionballs.com/Whiffletree.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple...28mechanism%29

Whiffletree;
The pivoted horizontal crossbar to which the harness traces of a draft animal are attached and which is in turn attached to a vehicle or an implement. Also called singletree, swingletree; also called regionally whippletree.

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[Variant of whippletree.]
Regional Note: Whiffletree, a term primarily used in the northeast United States, is derived from the older term whippletree, which is used in the Upper Northern states farther to the west. The fact that whiffletree, the newer term, is used in the Northeast, the older dialect area, illustrates the process of linguistic change. Even as the older word whippletree was spreading westward into a new dialect area, it was evolving into something differentwhiffletreein the area where it originated, as if the older dialect area were somehow trying to keep a step ahead.

Whippletrees are used in tension to distribute forces from a point load to the traces of draught animals (the traces are the chains or straps on each side of the harness, on which the animal pulls). For these, the whippletree consists of a loose horizontal bar between the draught animal and its load. The centre of the bar is connected to the load, and the traces attach to its ends. Whippletrees are used especially when pulling a dragged load such as a plough, harrow, log or canal boat or for pulling a vehicle (by the leaders in a team with more than one row of animals).

A swingletree or singletree is a special kind of whippletree used for a horse-drawn vehicle, and the term swingletree is sometimes used for draught whippletrees generally.

A whippletree balances the pull from each side of the animal, preventing the load from tugging alternately on each side. It also keeps a point load from pulling the traces in onto the sides of the animal.

If several animals are used abreast, further whippletrees may be used behind the first. Thus, with two animals, each will have its own whippletree, then a further whippletree will balance the loads from their two whippletrees ? this arrangement is sometimes known as a double-tree, or for the leaders in a larger team, leader-bars. With three or more animals abreast, even more whippletrees are needed; some may be made asymmetrical to balance odd numbers of animals. Multiple whippletrees balance the pulls from the different animals, ensuring that each takes an equal share of the work.

[Bigcypresshunter]

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That's the ad I was looking for. It's all coming back to me now. I knew I had seen this thing before.

Sorry Steve.. I thought you wanted to see a whiffletree and not just the tips. I have quite a few ads showing tips.

post it.

I am not sure what the point of going through all the books to find them at this point would be, BC .. Yours pretty well shows the tips and cockeyes that match, and anything else would be redundancy.

OK no problem. Im always looking to save good images of antiquities esp from those members that may have good old books. I put them in my files in alphabetical order and I can retreive them within seconds. I file Whiffletree under W and I think the particular image I posted came from another member. I have your cool New Orleans hearst and gator pic in my files as well.

Another point, over the years names change. I prefer to call an item by the catalog name it was called back in the day when it was sold.. 8) Gotta love old catalogs.

[creskol]

.

That's the ad I was looking for. It's all coming back to me now. I knew I had seen this thing before.

Sorry Steve.. I thought you wanted to see a whiffletree and not just the tips. I have quite a few ads showing tips.

post it.

I am not sure what the point of going through all the books to find them at this point would be, BC .. Yours pretty well shows the tips and cockeyes that match, and anything else would be redundancy.

OK no problem. Im always looking to save good images of antiquities esp from those members that may have good old books. I put them in my files in alphabetical order and I can retreive them within seconds. I file Whiffletree under W and I think the particular image I posted came from another member. I have your cool New Orleans hearst and gator pic in my files as well.

Another point, over the years names change. I prefer to call an item by the catalog name it was called back in the day when it was sold.. 8) Gotta love old catalogs.

Indeed it was .. That was one I posted earlier .. here is the un-cropped version:

[Bigcypresshunter]

"....anything else would be redundancy" lol. http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...,341191.0.html

Looks like a good book. What the heck, Ill post some more...

[Bigcypresshunter]

I guess Im overdoing it sorry.

One more from Mark Parker. http://www.treasurenet.com/westeast/...arkparker.html

"Yep... a whiffletree tip! A whiffletree is a center-pivoting pole on a buggy or cart hitch, with a tip at each end to which the traces of the horse's harness are attached. At the turn of the century, you could buy a pair of these tips, silverplated no less, for about 50 cents. Yours probably won't fetch much more than that now, but the name alone makes it a neat conversation piece." QUOTE MARK PARKER

[Steve in PA]

Thanks everyone who contributed to this ID and supplied additional information. I feel like a wiffletree authority now

[Bigcypresshunter]

I also find the changing terminology confusing when searching many sites. Here are a couple of definitions from online dictionary sources, as well as an interesting link.
http://www.precisionballs.com/Whiffletree.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whipple...28mechanism%29

Yes the terminology is confusing. It appears that whippletree or whiffletree is used along with Whiffle Tree which is something entirely different or maybe Im just conused with Double Tree lol.

[GpSnoopy]

Yes the terminology is confusing. It appears that whippletree or whiffletree is used along with Whiffle Tree which is something entirely different or maybe Im just conused with Double Tree lol.

Naw, not confused. That's definitely a doubletree, which is made up of 3 whiffletrees, or is that 3 swingletrees? singletrees? AAAARRRGGGGHHH. I'm getting a headache.