Tool belts/aprons in the shop

[Michael Donahue]

Do you wear a tool belt or an apron when you're in the shop? I've been thinking about picking one up because somehow I can lose a dozen pencils in a week I'm nervous though because I never wear lose clothing in the shop for fear of an accident, and I can almost see a tool belt get sucked into the jointer or something. Am I being paranoid?

If you do have a tool belt/apron, which do you prefer? What features do you look for?

Thanks!

[Sonny Edmonds]

But seldom worn.
And yep, you are being paranoid.

I have a leather one I favor for the lathe because it has no pockets to fill up with cuttings, and sheds well.
For repetitive stuff, I favor one with several pockets to hold stuff.
As for pencils, if you fill a shirt pocket with them, then set one down when and where you last use it, pretty soon the pocket is empty.
But you sure don't have to look far to find a pencil, they'll be everywhere you needed one. LOL!
(I have several in "strategic" places that I just leave there. Rarely have to look for one.)

[Andrew Nemeth]

I just received a shop apron as an early christmas gift and I must say that after spending a good 8 hours in my shop today that I LOVE it. I have always worn a smaller tool belt while working construction (mostly finish trim) but I have never really fallen in love with it. The apron fits much better and is not dragging my pants down. I love having the pockets at chest level for my pencils and small ruler. I bet I saved at least 10-15 min today becuase i did not have to search for stuff that I misplaced. As for safety is concerned, my apron fits close enough that if it is getting caught up in something I'm already in trouble.

[Tom Veatch]

I wear a knee length apron with bib front to keep most of the sawdust off my clothing and the wife somewhat mollified. Want bib pocket(s) for pencil's, 6" scale, etc., a front pocket(s) with flap for tape, block plane, pencils and other items without pocket clip, etc. Flap to keep sawdust from accumulating in pocket. Non clip pencils go in a waist level pocket otherwise I'm continually having to pick them up after bending over to pick up something off the floor.

No real preference for color or material. Have one made from brown cotton duck, one from blue denim. Leather would be nice, but generally too expensive for the function.

Have never been concerned with apron getting caught in any of the tools. I don't generally have that part of my body (from abdomen to knees) close enough to sharp spinning objects for an apron to be any more likely to get caught than my belt or trousers. Long, loose sleeves and gloves are a much bigger danger.

[Ed Kilburn]

Sonny, I tried that once, bought a box of 24 yellow #2s. Sharpened them and put them in a coffee cup, now you would think my lost pencil problem would be solved. Nope by the weeks end I could no longer find a pencil anyplace. I'm sure there are pencil eating critters that infect wood shops. Someone should come up with a repellant to keep these critters out of our shops.

[Jeff Bratt]

Do you wear a tool belt or an apron when you're in the shop? I've been thinking about picking one up because somehow I can lose a dozen pencils in a week I'm nervous though because I never wear lose clothing in the shop for fear of an accident, and I can almost see a tool belt get sucked into the jointer or something. Am I being paranoid?

If you do have a tool belt/apron, which do you prefer? What features do you look for?

Thanks!

I really like having several tools - pencils, markers, tape measure, square, calipers, depth gauge, 6" rule, safety glasses, reading glasses, plus some spare pockets depending on the task "at hand"; that are right at my fingertips - no searching required. Still, it is annoying that the pockets always catch sawdust - but I find that the trade-off is worth it. Pocket flaps might help - or hinder. I just resign myself to sometimes emptying all the pockets and cleaning the debris out. I can always take the apron off - like for finishing tasks... it hangs near the center of my work area, and the tools are still available.

I've never been in a situation where I felt an apron would get caught in a tool - and if I saw something like that, I think that would indicate that some sort of guard on the tool is required. If I were working in an old flat-belt drive shop, it might be a different story.

I looked for an apron that had lots of different sized pockets, where the straps were adjustable so it didn't flop around, and wide shoulder straps. This is bound to be a very personal decision - one size most certainly does not fit all... Also, I think I bought mine for $19 - not something I would have regreted if it didn't work out.

[Paul Greathouse]

Neither, I travel pretty light in the shop. Down here in the south I wear either Carhartt shorts or the Big Smith line of shorts that they sell at Home Depot. They both have the side pockets. All I carry in the shop is a .05 lead pencil, 16' tape measure and sometimes a Tri Square. When doing assembly of cabinets, I will carry a speed-square in my back pocket for quick checks of square corners.

I'm a tool belt wearer outside of the shop but tend to use different tools in the shop.

[Chuck Tringo]

Had a belt which I felt was too cumbersome, then got a smal clippy pocket thingie which I used for about a week, then gave up on that too. Now I have a mechanics cart about 4 feet from my main work area and just keep all the stuff im using on top of that.

[Jim Kountz]

I stick the pencil behind the ear and the tape clipped to my pants pocket. Sometimes you'll see me with a square sticking out of my back pocket, thats my tool belt! I do think Santa is bringing me a turning smock!! Could be wrong about that though....

[Sonny Edmonds]

Oh, I still find myself looking from time to time, Ed.
But with four areas I usually have one in, I usually find one before going in a grabbing Mama's and obscounding with it. LOL!

[David G Baker]

I wear a shop apron when I work on my metal lathe, mill and when drilling metal because of the potential of splashing cutting oil all over my clothes.
I have had pencils that have lasted me over 20 years. They are the heavy large round carpenter pencils. For some reason I am able to hold on to writing instruments. I purchased a box of golfers pencils years ago, not sure how many were in the box when I bought it but the box is still over 90% full. I will admit that I frequently use a blade for scoring wood prior to cutting rather than a pencil.

[Ray Newman]

I wear an apron probably 95% of the time I'm in the shop. Guess it was the way I grew up -- protect your clothes.

The Number One Squeeze made the apron from denim. She fabricated a large full width pocket on the bottom, held in place by Velcro along the 2 side. Easy to keep clean. "Pencil pocket" holds about 4 mechanical pencil, pencil style eraser, small ruler, etc. Another pocket will accommodate small tools. The pencil & tool pockets are cleaned out by a periodic blast of compressed air.

I also have a leather apron that she made, but I find it uncomfortable to wear during warm weather.

On another board, one poster had a picture of an apron that his wife made. It was a pair of bib overalls, w/ the backs of cut off. It look like she separated the front & back @ the seams.V elcro ties secured the trousers legs & the waist.

When doing sanding, works producing large. amt's. of chips, etc., I also wear a shop hat.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have one like this from Bucket Boss and it works very well. But have the model with the straps that cross across your back. A must.I have a magnet sewn behind one slot to hold my square.
The white apron below is from Shopsmith. Also a great option.

[Don Bullock]

I have a good leather apron that I used to wear all the time when I was working in the shop. When I started woodworking again a couple of years ago I didn't wear it partly because I was out of the habit. One ting I plan to do when I start working in my new shop is to wear it.

On the subject of pencils, I have several strategically placed in my very small shop space. One is always within reach, mainly because the space is so small. I try not to move them from their "assigned" space. I'm sure in my new, larger shop I'll need a lot more.

[Tony Bilello]

It has only one pocket and that is the upper pencil pocket. If it has a lower pocket, I cut it off. The lower pocket gets caught on everything from the corner of my vise to the handle on my tablesaw fence.
I only wear "T"'s under it because I dont want sleeves to get caught in tools.
When turning, I wear my "T" shirt backwards and I dont wear an apron because it quickly fills with shavings.