Definition of "sander"

sander

/ˈsændɚ/

noun
plural sanders
1. A person employed to sand wood.
2. A machine to mechanize the process of sanding.
3. (rail transport) A device which spreads sand on the rails in wet, snowy, icy, slippery conditions to improve traction.
  Quotations
  Grass growing on the track made the running far from easy, and only frequent use of the sanders enabled us to breast the 1 in 50 gradients between Letterkenny and Kilmacrenon [sic].
  1949 November and December, K. Longbottom, “By Goods Train to Gweedore”, in Railway Magazine, page 356
  Traditionally, sand was used to aid grip, being released onto the track in front of the wheels from a special 'sandbox'. However, the Slough accident led to two trials on the use of train-borne sanders to aid braking: [...] Now, all new stock is fitted with automatic sanders, as have most of the pre-1994 units still running.
  2021 November 17, Greg Morse, “Network News: Background: causes and effects of low adhesion and wheelslide”, in RAIL, number 944, pages 8–9
4. (historical) A small device resembling a salt shaker but containing sand that was shaken over a document to remove excess ink.

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