Or shop wear in general? I have purchased a shop apron from Duluth Trading Company for $19.99. This was based on an old review in Popular Woodworking. Waiting for it to arrive. I have the little Home Depot two pouch around the waist version. My pencils fall over and lay on the bottom of it. When I search for it, I invariably insert several screws under my finger nails. Also, if the pencil didn’t fall over and i bent over i was poked by it occasionally.
So I needed an apron with upper pockets for pencils, small rulers, etc. And a few lower pockets for screws/nails, tape measure, candle (lubricate drywall screws), etc… I live in FL, so nylon wasn’t an option (too hot), canvas with some leather trim seemed just the ticket. I’m hoping it will last a while, but in case it doesn’t I’d like to hear about other fine products. Lower pockets on the side were a selling point too. This lowers sawdust collection in your pockets and also eases up and down movement.
One caveat about duluth, they charged almost $9.00 for shipping and handling, (two other small products purchased). Normally, I’d cancel the order for exorbitant shipping, but I’ve looked around for a good cheap apron and haven’t had much luck. I don’t anticipate ordering from them again.
What are the features you look for in a good apron?
Duluth also has a work vest which looks pretty useful, but it’s $68 for the base version, yes options are extra…not sure if they have any rebates or )% financing on it 😉
Regards,
Ken
“Do as you would be done by.” C.S. Lewis
Replies
I found that I don't like wearing a full apron, so a few weeks ago, I picked up a "waist apron" at Woodcraft. The model is no longer on their web site, but it has some big pockets for tape mx, glasses, etc., but also little slots that work well for pencils, pens, and a small 90* engineer's square.
Another one that's on the list is a leather apron for use when routering and heavy-duty sawing. Was encouraged to get one by folks here at Knots, because they will help protect against flying carbide and flying spikes of wood. Expensive though, haven't gotten one yet.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I have the deluth also - but I bought it before they added the vertical strap in the back (between the neck strap and waist strap).I like it - it's saved much of my clothing from stain/paint and glue.
Only problem is the pockets fill up with sawdust when I use the router.I've used it both in the shop and at a construction site great for both.Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
I have used a leather apron shoeing horses for years. It was made by my brother who simply bought a piece of 'split' hide from a craft store and sewed a long loop (hem) on the only edge he straightened; put an old belt through the loop; that was it.
Dont know about woodwork, but it really has saved me from some pretty serious injuries from the ends of nails and slipping rasps when shoeing. You can also use it to wrap your wooden handles and rasps in for travel to/from site work.
re the natural edges: daggy is sometimes cool?
All these guys here, they had their wives make aprons to order, alter 'em, whatever, and here I sit -- the wife no less -- and I don't even own a sewing machine. ROFL!! Glad to hear someone's brother made their apron.
Yep, my shoers always had leather of some sort. Chaps or apron.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Why Forrest Girl, I'm ashamed Here I have 3 sewing machines! I don't use them very much any more but my Favorite Apron is made from heavy denim and was sewn by my Mom years ago after mine I made wore out / mouse made a home in one winter during non use and ate holes in it! I noticed as things kept falling out of the pocket!Yes my Mom is a much better Seamstress but hey I can make due!
I have a short one I was given at a tool store in Atlanta. Has a great big Dewalt printed on it and was so darn stiff I have ran it through the wash about 10 times to limber it up. The straps are still to stiff and I always go for my old faithful though.KK
I have a pair of overalls from the local Farm Bureau. If Ijust want to work for a few minutes this allows me to go into the shop with my buisiness clothes without ruining them. I have an apron with lots of pockets. They always seem to fill up with dust though.
rank
Don't be afraid. It's just another power tool. lol.
I got mine from Target. It was in the gardening section.
Mostly I wear my carpenters belt, backwards. Tape measure in the front. It keeps the sawdust out of the pockets.
I recently got a free with purchase Makita framers belt and tool bags. The thing is so big that the bags almost wrap around my waist.
Hi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
hey Patto "daggy is sometimes cool?" will really fox the Yanks!
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking
Ere Malcolm, that word "daggy"- is it a derivative of the classic word "dag", i.e something to do with sheep, or some body one doesn't like?Maybe you should give a full explanation for the folk back in the U.S of A...
I would also like to know what kind of woodworking ForestGirl is doing if she lives in fear of "flying carbide": things must be tough in that neck of the er forest.
Personally I wear overalls to protect my clothes from dust, glue etc and to wipe glue off fingers when panic strikes. Back in the dark continent some gentlemen made me a nice leather apron from scraps of upholstery leather and I usually use this when turning brass .
22974.18 in reply to 22974.17
"Ere Malcolm, that word "daggy"- is it a derivative of the classic word "dag", i.e something to do with sheep, or some body one doesn't like?Maybe you should give a full explanation for the folk back in the U.S of A..."
You're on to it, Mate. Dags are the manurey bits of wool around the rear end of a sheep. They are often hard and sort of dryish, and rattle when the sheep runs, hence the Kiwi expression "rattle your dags" which means to get a move on.
Describing someone as a 'dag' however is a little different. Don't ask me how vernacular language works, but a 'dag' is a hard case, someone who is can be the life and soul of the party, or a bit beyond the pale, or ... it's one of those expressions that's hard to explain. You gotta be there, eh?
So daggy usually means a bit sort of ragged and scrappy. Untidy.
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking
So Dagwood might not be the most appropriate moniker for a Kiwi woodworker? <G>Andy Engel
Senior editor, Fine Woodworking magazine
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
I think the American word for "dag" is dingleberry, but its use is not confined to sheep.
Ah thanks for that mate, even though I am "here", getting the info from the horse's mouth is satisfying.
You never told me where you live?
Following on from Kiwimac
Dag is usually used as a term of affection from sheilas between about 17 and 30 (or acting that way) to describe a cove in a group they are with. Always lighthearted, not a boof, usually self reliant/ not into the peer thing (especially with dress), but likes to play.
Best plain english expression was from an old mate: Not much class but bags of style.
You wont hear it this way in Sydney and Melbourne - they speak a different language/ idiom that is much closer to US English except in Bondi where you hear lots of Kiwi.
And there I was thinking that the honeys were making unflattering comments about me !
Thanks for the info, and I will be checking on what the editor says in the next FW issue (if it arrives)
2 Christmases ago my wife and I agreed to hold the spending to $25 each. I bought her a CD. Felt cheesy but that was the agreement. I opened my present and YOW! A beautiful full length leather shop apron! I started out to holler: "HEY! No fair! You spent..." But she held up a hand and said, "It was less than $25. Just settle down."She got it from a welding supply joint! Maybe you should check it out that way. It IS really cool to have, great protection. Not many pockets--just a couple of pencil thingies up high and in the middle--but I just tied a $3 canvas waist apron to the D-rings for the straps, and bingo! Perfect.CharlieI tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Hey Ken,
Up here, in the opposite corner of the country, I prefer to wear a pair of Carhart bib overalls when I can. The top pockets are very handy and I use the various side pockets for cell phone, reading glasses etc. They might be a bit warm in your climate however.
When I'm caught in the shop in my street clothes, I have a simple denim apron with a swinging top pocket (that doesn't dump stuff when I bend over).
Tom
Hi Tom,
Yeah I know the attire is a bit heavier up your way. I grew up in Oregon just south of Eugene. When I borrow a jacket from my BIL, on visits home, its usually a Carhart. I used to wear denim bibs with a handy hammer loop, but they don't work to well in the humid south.
Regards,
Ken
"Do as you would be done by." C.S. Lewis
I like wearing an apron. My first one was store bought, but then I had my wife sew one to my specs. I like the front pocket with a flap to keep sawdust out. I like higher pockets for my 6" rule and pencils. I the large pocket I keep a tape measure, chalk, and a fold up utility knife.
I wouldn't be without my apron. My wife made it out of heavy denim, to my specs. It has cross back straps, so the weight is on your shoulders instead of your neck. I have a 6" combination square, an 11 oz hammer, a multitip screw driver and a 16' tape measure in the lower pockets. I also have a pocket for a 6' folding rule, but it's usually empty. The top pockets hold a small razor knife, a 9/16" wrench (adjusts fence on router table), a 6" Starrett ruler, a #2 pencil, a mechanical pencil and a white pencil (for dark wood). It's not the equipment that makes my apron heavy, it's all the glue that gets wiped on it!
Seriously, it's one of the most important tools in my shop. I go in the shop and the apron goes on, then work starts.
Alan & Lynette Mikkelsen, Mountain View Farm, est. 1934, Gardens & Fine Woodworking, St. Ignatius, MT
Kenshep,
The primary purpose of an apron for a cabinet maker...is to wipe the glue off your fingers...its gotta be long enough. If it can hold a 6" rule and a pencil or two your in clover.
Don't forget latex caulk when you are on the roof :-)
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
I wear one I made myself out of a large piece of split cowhide. No pockets and the smooth side is out so sawdust and chips won't catch on it. No pockets cause I only wear it when using the lathe.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
I been wearing these for the last 15 years
http://www.pointerbrand.com/DynamicProductCatalog.asp?Category=Overalls&SubCategory=Carpenter
Love your epigram, Slim!
I've been wearing the Deluth for about a year now. It comes a bit long for my liking so I had it shortened to above my knees. I also had a small pocket added to just fit my drafting-pencil sharpener.
The apron is great. I wish it came in different colors.
Jeff
I have the Lee Valley canvas one. Check out Fastcap, they have a couple of great ones.
Hello,
My apron is 9yrs old and I got it from Lowe's. It was about $5.00 as I recall. It is held together with duct tape and faithfullness and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have sown pretty much everything back together on it and in many places the only fabric left is tape...I adore it.
It is rather a waist-length thing with the lower pockets for my little starrett square (an essential) on one side and a 16' tape in the other. It has to be a 16' Stanley too. Man, I'll tell you I've gone through a lot of cheapies. The 16' is hard to find too for some reason. They are the perfect blend of a nice, stout tape and is light weight, unlike the 25's. The 12's are kind of a waste of time for me; flimsy and too short.
The upper pockets are for my note pad, pencils and a 6" rule in with the pencils. Buy rules from General; they're cheaper and better. Also, all wood pencils!
I have a special place in my heart for my dog-eared old apron. I smile every time I put it on; which, at different times through the years is every day. I suppose someday I should upgrade to a lie-nielson...er, do they make aprons?
Leather is out for me unless I am blacksmithing or in the arctic. I would definitely try the Deluth thing. The stuff I have gotten from them is very good thus far. Heck, look at the expense as "I love this job!" tax.
You might try buying a chisel with the money you would pay for a more expensive apron and buy a full, cloth hardware store apron with the money you were going to have to pay just for shipping. Heck, ok, so maybe you'll hate it. Or just perhaps, like mine, it will become a friend of yours.
Michael
We are what we repeatedly do; therefore, excellence is a habit not an act
- Aristotle
Eight years with the Duluth model, its been very faithfull. I think my wife washed it once???? I dump out the shavings when I can't find stuff in the pockets. It is a great buy for the money.
Lee Valley sells a "turner's smock". It has long cuffed sleeves, several pockets, and closes tightly around the neck. No saw-dust down the neck! I highly recommend it.
Tom
I wear a denim one from Rockler, about $20, when I'm painting, staining, glueing. It's long, has lots of pockets, and a cross strap in back.
I wear a machinist's shop coat that wraps around and ties in the back.
I wear Grizzly Industies apron. It was fairly inexpensive Ithink like 17 or so. It has a ton of super useful pockets, loops... The only drawback is that there are no flaps over the pockets, so if you're powertooling all day tey sometimes can get a lot of dust in them. I like it and it was within budget.
-Art K
ken,
Over the years, I've worn, and then not worn, an apron. I have two, that were made for me by the wife. They are warmish in the summer, and I find them a bit confining.
In the first shop I worked at, there was an older gent whose ritual upon arriving at the shop never varied. He'd lean over to pet the shop's dog, and brush his (the dog's) face with his tail. Then he'd pick his apron off the nail behind the door. The old man wore a smallish fedora type hat, and he'd lift the hat about an inch and a half, and with the other hand, flip the apron's neck loop over his head, then drop the hat back in place, all in one smooth motion.
I occasionally visit a planing mill run by an old order Mennonite. He wears a short apron, like a farrier's apron, made of leather. Handling the rough planks and boards that he mills, he needs it to protect his pants. His apron has patches on the patches.
Regards,
Ray
I have a denim apron that I almost never wear. It hangs on a peg on the wall except for staining days,and not always then either. I have tried to wear them but the pockets always seem to fill with router shavings and the lower half is always in the way when leaning over. It's a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for me from about this time of year through Oct and then jeans through the winter. Every pair of jeans and shorts I own other than my "good" ones has the lower corner of the right front pocket worn out from a tape measure hanging there 10 hrs or more a day. Wish I could get used to wearing one but I just can't
Being just a weekend recreational hatchet man, my apron is only used on jobs that have a lot of dust or shavings. I got it from my wife from the food service industry. It is a clear vinyl apron with no pockets. It keeps all the stuff out of my pockets, fits tight, and keeps the dust off. It also shakes off easily and hangs until the next shower of shavings. It works for me but what do I know.
The duluth one you ordered is great. I have been using that model for a while. THey make good products. The apron does not ride on my neckand that is a good thing. Plenty of pocket space. I would like slightly deeper pockets, but otherwise I am quite pleased.
I have an old, no longer available, full length Lee Valley denim apron. Has a couple of narrow pockets for pencils and the like and one larger pocket. Got it, primarily, for quickie jobs when I didn't want to change (dust cover). I do like it, though, and find I'm wearing it more and more. Only problem is the pockets are the last place I ever look for anything.
I like the bib overalls from Pennys...they make two kinds, one pait has double knees and a removable nail pouch, the others are just standard bib overalls. You have nice pockets for pencils, glasses,etc, they are roomy and of course are the ultimate in high fashion when tucked into a pair of lace up boots.
john
What apron do you wear?
mY WIFES IF i HAD TO DO DISHES!
I wear waist Apron, have a look https://www.ustradeent.com/three-pocket-10-waist-apron-995.html
Looks like JC2's idea is alive.
Sorry.
"I like the bib overalls from Pennys." sic. You better get there quick before all of them close. Stock is selling for something like $0.18/share.
He bought his overalls in 2005.
I still have dress shoes and a suit from 2005. Figure I'll be buried in them. But everyday wear? Long since broken down to their constituent atoms.
Just stopped by Hock Tools to look for an iron and noticed they are selling aprons now too: http://www.hocktools.com/products/aprons.html
A restaurant servers waist apron. Good for 3-4 years before my square pokes a hole in it. I added quick release buckles.
https://www.chefworks.com/memphis-waist-apron-aw054
Best apron out there is available through Katz Moses. Check him out on You Tube. Has a leather holster for your 4 or 6 inch square, heavy duty "duck" material with adjustable padded straps.
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