The Spill Plane

A Specialty Plane For Everyday Use.

- By James Wright

A tool that whispers of simpler times, of hearth fires and candlelit evenings. It's not just a tool; it's a piece of history that you can hold in your hand, a connection to the woodworkers who have come before us. It is a powerful tool that can produce a finished project in a single pass of the plane. And it is one of the few times where the byproduct is the actual product.

What is a Spill Plane?

In essence, it’s a small, specialized plane designed to create thin, narrow shavings, or “spills”, that were used to light fires and candles before the advent of matches. You needed a way to transfer a flame from the fireplace to a candle or start a new fire, and that is where the spill plane came in.

The design is straightforward: a small body, a sharp blade set at a shallow angle, and often a fence to guide the plane along the board. But the angle and geometry were mind-boggling. They were often made from scrap and iron that were past their life in other planes. Because of this, they came in many shapes and sizes. Some would mount in a bench vise and have the board pulled over them, and others would have the board stationary with the plane moved over the board.

There’s something deeply satisfying about running a well-tuned spill plane across a piece of wood and watching that thin ribbon of shaving emerge and grow out of the side of the plane. It’s almost meditative. The wood curls come off in long, delicate straws; each one requires a mastery of the plane’s geometry and the skill needed to set up the plane.