Smock Rating System for Turners

[Brian Kent]

If you practice martial arts, you know exactly what level your sparing partner is by his or her belt. I think we should have a belt system for turners. Or maybe a Smock System, because you don't want a floppy belt getting caught in your lathe.

I thought of a couple. Help me out here.

Clean Smock - never turned on the lathe. The lathe is still shiny, too.

Yellow Smock - from what happens when you experience your first catch.

Brown Smock - from what happens when a catch explodes a bowl.

Red Smock - from the first through the hundredth time you realize that if you can't see part of a spinning object, it is because it is a corner waiting to slice your fingers.

Spotted Smock - from every time you applied a finish on a piece while it is spinning.

[Peter Fabricius]

I agree, NO belts for our smocks!
I have had all the colours you mention and now have gone beyond that to a beige LV smock with stains and wear marks on it....

I have put a tab at the back of the neck so I can hang up the LV smock, sewed the pencil pockets in half so two pencils fit in there without falling out from the wide slots and put a small Velcro button on the left side of the collar to hold the neck chip protector off to the left side.... Just a few thoughts.
Peter F.

[Brian Kent]

Peter, you have achieved the status of:

User-Modified Smock.

Maybe we should have another level of beginner's Smock for "Smock You Can Still Read".

[Jim Meyer]

I have brown spots on the back from to many catches... Jim

[robert baccus]

I have many ugly spotted smocks. Most people call them shirts.

[John Grace]

Wear a smock and you can't feel the weight of two hours of shavings on your arms...

[Thomas Canfield]

My smock/apron is blue with a lot of sap stains. What does that mean?

[Dick Mahany]

My smock now looks tie dyed. That's what happens when turning starts to expand into pen turning and poly pen blank casting and dying. At least I feel like I'm reliving my childhood !

[William Tanner]

I noticed I have a lot of peanut butter on mine.

[Brian Kent]

OK, so we have the:

User Modified Smock

Brown spotted on the back from many catches

Shaving Filled Smock

Ugly Spotted Shirt Smocks

Tie-Died Smock

Sap-Stained Smock

Peanut Butter Smock

And then there's the Bearded Smock, and the "I know you are retired but take a shower every week please" smock.

[Brian Kent]

Who wears Clean, New Smocks?

1) People who have bought their equipment but have never used it yet.

2) Presenters.

3) Female turners who, unlike male turners, still have some degree of class.

4) ???