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As you head down that slippery slope to antique hand tool use, you will discover a myriad of hand planes, some designed for a single dedicated purpose. Case in point - the wooden hand plane on the left is called a "spill plane", and its only function is to create the long, tightly twisted shavings seen to its right. Before matches were a common and inexpensive item, these "spills" would be used to transfer a flame from the fireplace to a pipe, candle, lantern, etc. The plane on the right is a Stanley No. 3 smoothing plane, with the shavings from it shown for comparison. The spill plane is 10 3/4 inches long, 2 5/16 inches wide, and has no maker's mark on it. It may have been made by a craftsman for his personal use.
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Lynn
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Lee Valley sells a modern version and there are several tutorials online that show how to make one.
Hank Gillette
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I have seen the Lee Valley model. I really like it. I'll check out the tutorials you mentioned, as I may try my hand at building one.
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It's on my list to do.
"Life is too short for bad tools.".-- Pedder 7/22/11
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That one has a number of interesting features: skewed mouth, screwed on side, nailed on bottom, and skewed bottom groove that serves to increase the skew of the mouth. Could the nailed on bottom and the extra skew of the groove be a post-construction modification to make it work better?
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I have the LV and used it a lot when I was heating with wood—before it more than doubled n price—I used it to get the flame to the center of a pile of logs where a match didn't reach. Works great, I still use it for my BBQ.
homo homini lupus
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Yeats
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
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That's a cool find Lynn!
I have the LV one & love it
David
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Kari made one; she even made the blade.
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Hank Gillette
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Very cool! I've seen the LV version, but I don't think I've ever seen a vintage spill plane.
Steve S.
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Tradition cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labour.
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I have read about spill planes, but have yet to see an old one in person. Thanks for sharing yours. It is one of those, "I have no use for it, but I want it anyway" planes.
Ralph
