This weekend I did a few small projects. Nothing really,  I turned a handle, I milled a few boards from firewood and I played with my spill plane.

My wife bought me a Veritas Spill Plane several years ago and I’ve only used it once, so it was time to break it out.  I added a tiny bench hook that kept it from sliding around. 

Ready to light our six burner Garland stove.

What’s a spill plane you ask? If you are interested you can explore more about spill planes here:  The Complete Encyclopedia of Spill Planes.

Nah… I’m just kidding….. I did a little of googling and came up with the same three sentences.  

In essence– a spill is a long, straight curl of wood that was used to transfer a flame from a fire to a stove or a lantern, before matches came along in 1860.  Seems simple enough. Easy to light and easy to extinguish. 

Apparently the name “spill” comes from the way the wood spills out of the plane as its cut, curling as it exits. 

Of course like everything else in woodworking there are a variety of designs. The best examples I found can be seen here at the Tool Shed.

Also in my research I discovered others are able to make much tighter, cleaner spills than me. What else is new??

What could be better?  A woodworking plane that isn’t even used to build anything– except maybe a fire.

For more info check out these videos:

• Paul Sellars:  Spill Plane – What does it do?
• AmericanWoodworker:   Secrets of the Spill Plane