What's this?

[ctarborist]

A friend keeps digging these items up in his yard in Southbury CT.  They're made of aluminum, apparently hold a wooden insert of  some type.  Those rivets are copper.  The aluminum pieces are joined with a 1/2 inch stud insert.  I suspect these are bracing devices of some type, but any ideas are appreciated.

[Papaw]

Can we see the other end?

[john k]

Is that aluminum or zinc plated?  They look alot like the business end of wind mill pump rod.  Some of the early pumps had  wooden shafts joined in sections with iron couplings, to lift the water.  Just my thought.

[Papaw]

Found it!!
Wood sucker rods for windmills is correct-

WHITE ASH WOOD ROD

Windmill Catalog Page 60
   $ 4.40 ft.    1-1/8"    1-1/8"  White ash wood rod with galvanized steel couplings
               ( 5/8" threading )
   $ 6.30 ft.    1-3/8"    1-3/8"  White ash wood rod with galvanized steel couplings
               ( 7/8" threading )
Octagon white ash wood sucker rod with galvanized steel couplings and copper rivets comes in random lengths.
The 1-1/8" wood rod has 5/8" box and pin (threads), weighs 50 lbs cft, and comes 9 lengths to a bundle
( approximately 180' ).
The 1-3/8" wood rod has 7/8" box and pin (threads), weighs 80 lbs cft, and comes 6 lengths to a bundle
( approximately 120' ).

http://www.deanbennett.com/rod.htm Scroll down the page about 3/4 of the way.

[lbgradwell]

Good work boys!

[keykeeper]

A friend keeps digging these items up in his yard in Southbury CT. 

Makes you wonder if someone might have had a pile of the rods stacked up for storage, and the wood rotted away leaving the scattered ends to be found decades later!!!