spaller

spall +‎ -er

spaller (plural spallers)

1. A tool used to remove concrete.
   • 1982, Shippingport Atomic Power Station, Decommissioning:

     Concrete floors and walls can be mechanically decontaminated by removing the contaminated surface layer (1 to 2 inches) using surface grinders, spallers, or pneumatic drills.

   • 1982, Roy L. Campbell, A Review of Methods for Concrete Removal, page 49:

     The concrete spaller system contains a hydraulic power supply system and the spaller device. The spaller device, as shown in Figure 19, basically consists of a hydraulic cylinder, a push rod, and a bit.

   • 2012, K. L. Mittal, Surface Contamination: Genesis, Detection, and Control, page 451:

     The concrete spaller is a device which has been developed specifically for removing concrete surfaces by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL).

2. A person who breaks down stone into smaller pieces.
   • 1942, South Australian Industrial Reports, volume 16, page 369:

     In 1919, the weekly margin above the living wage for the "all others" item was 6s., though the spallers then received 9s. a week margin and the millhands only 3s.

   • 1997, Leigh Edmonds, The Vital Link: A History of Main Roads Western Australia: 1926-1996:

     After them came men called spallers, who broke the rock down into smaller lumps, generally about three inches across, with sledgehammers.

   • 2009, Lynne Mayers, Voices from the Dressing Floors 1773-1950:

     Many days have I spent watching the female spallers breaking the stones. In the year 1899 I started to work at Dolcoath but there were not many spallers there then as they had just put in crushers which were worked by steam.

• spall
• spalling

• Parsell