splinter-bar
Also splinter bar.
[f. splinter n.]
1. A swingle-tree or whipple-tree.
| 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 78 A two-wheeled plough complete, with draught-chain, and splinter-bars, or whipple-trees. 1767 S. Paterson Anoth. Trav. I. 104 A splinter-bar at the end of the traces, to which a small cord leading from the mast is fastened. 1793 W. H. Marshall Rur. Econ. W. Eng. (1796) II. 350 The yoke and single chain..are..much preferable to collars, traces, and splinter bars. 1855 Ruffini Dr. Antonio i, The rearing of the leader was caused by the knocking of the splinter bar against his legs. 1893 Spectator 23 Dec. 909 The plough-teams with looped-up splinter-bars banging against the trace-chains. |
2. A cross-bar in a carriage, coach, or other vehicle, which is fixed across the head of the shafts, and to which the traces are attached.
The definition in Webster (1847), ‘A cross-bar in a coach, which supports the springs’, is repeated by later Dicts.
| 1794 W. Felton Carriages (1801) l. 59 The draught is much preferable when taken from a splinter-bar, which yields to the motion and pull of the horse. 1837 W. B. Adams Carriages 145 The distance of the splintre [sic] bar from the central pin or perch bolt is regulated by the size of the wheels. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artill. Man. (1862) 167, 4 Spare Splinter Bars,..4 pair of Shafts, per Battery, are distributed among the Waggons. 1877 Thrupp Hist. Coaches ii. 33 The horses are harnessed to splinter or drawing bars. |
| transf. 1890 D. K. Clark Steam Engine II. 408 The splinter-bar is formed of 3-inch angle-iron, ½ inch thick, and is connected to the axle by two wrought-iron arms. |
b. With distinguishing terms.
| 1802 Sporting Mag. XX. 308 Affixed to the usual or main splinter-bar. 1852 Burn Nav. & Milit. Dict. ii. 280 Swing splinter-bar, or rear master-bar, volée mobile de derrière. |