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 :D 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. :p

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! :D
(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 :D 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. :D 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.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71HGAMA0HJL._SL500_AA280_.gif

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/images/VersatileApron.jpg

[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.

[Denny Rice]

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.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71HGAMA0HJL._SL500_AA280_.gif

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/images/VersatileApron.jpg

Dave,

I like the apron, but if I had to put on that apron with all those tools in my shop I would not have any energy to do any woodworking. Looks very heavy.

[Bill Geyer]

I wear white cotton shop aprons religiously. I don't feel like I'm ready to work without it.
I keep a pencil, scribe and 6 inch end-read rule in the top pockets and a small tape measure, 6 inch comb. square (starrett) and an eraser in the lower pockets. I never have to look for any of those things and it keeps my clothes cleaner, too.
It also serves as a place to wipe the glue off my fingers....

[Gene Howe]

Bib overalls!
Cabelo's are nice.
I have several pair. Two of which are stained and so designated as "shop bibs". The rest are awaiting initiation and still relegated to the rack with my other "Sunday-go-to-meetin'" apparel.:)

[Jim Becker]

I do not wear an apron or tool belt in my shop. (I use a tool belt only when doing home improvement tasks in and around the house) The pencil du jour goes in my shirt pocket and that's about all I care about carting around the shop. I do have a couple smocks that I use for turning and will also wear one when I'm routing dovetails just to keep cleaner, but otherwise, an apron or tool belt doesn't work for me.

[Jim Fox]

No apron or tool belt here. I bought a simple knee length apron once and hung it on a hook after one use. IMO an Apron just gets in the way of free movement. Who cares if my jeans get dusty and dirty......they are jeans. It's like buyin a truck and only getting groceries with it. Haul some dirt in it!

[Bob Genovesi]

Another apron vote here if I do wear something....

[Tim Thomas]

About a year ago I bought a "Pencil Pull" from Home Depot for $1.98. By far the greatest value of any shop purchase I have ever made, because for less than 2 bucks it saves my sanity. It is just a small clip with a retractable cord wound up in it attached to a rubber cup that fits over the end of a carpenter's pencil. (See picture) I clip that thing to my right-hip belt loop the moment I walk in the shop and then I ALWAYS have my pencil ready when I need it. Before I bought this little gadget I probably spent half of my shop time looking for something to make a mark with. Those days are gone and I don't miss them at all. :D I've never had a problem with it getting in the way of anything I'm doing, and since it hangs low and at my side I'm not worried about it getting caught on anything.

As for a tool belt, I tried one of those big ole leather jobs that is really better suited for construction, and I used to wear it in the shop, but really it had way more pockets than I needed. It was heavy, bulky, clumsy, would fill up with sawdust, and the pockets were so big that small tools would fall to the bottom and I would have to rummage to find what I needed. Then I switched to using a nail apron (see pic) and that has worked out really well. This was a tip I picked up in one of my New Yankee Workshop books (good ole Norm). It is just a simple two-pocket canvas pouch and you can get these at your local BORG for less than $1.

What I like about the nail apron is that it has just the right amount of capacity for working in the woodshop. I usually keep a tape measure, a small square and notepad in one side, and whatever fasteners I might need in the other side. It is really light, close fitting and comfortable. Also, if you don't overload the pockets they will pretty much stay closed at the top and it won't fill up with sawdust. I still use my large tool belt when I am doing home improvement projects where I need to carry a wider variety of tools and may be up and down a ladder, but around the shop I really like the nail apron.

So there you go, my personal recommendation is to buy a $1 nail apron and a $2 pencil pull. And with Christmas coming up, you may want to get more than one pencil pull to use as stocking stuffers. They work great for all kinds of folks. I gave one to a buddy of mine who is a research scientist. He was always losing his pens in the lab and the pencil pull has saved his sanity the same way it has saved mine.

(By the way, this post is so long because the office is nearly dead today and there isn't much to do. Happy Holidays!! :D)

[Rod Sheridan]

I wear a Lee Valley apron that holds a 6 inch ruler and a 0.5mm mechanical pencil.

As others have mentioned, I don't feel like it's shop time unless I'm wearing it.

Regards, Rod.

[Chris Padilla]

When Festool came out with an apron, I decided to give it a shot. I have to say that I wish I'd donned one years ago: they rule! No longer do I spend time searching for my 6" steel rule, pencil, and tape measure, among other things that fit nicely in the various pockets.

I'll be an apron wearer from here on out....

[Rick Hubbard]

About a year ago I bought a "Pencil Pull" from Home Depot for $1.98. By far the greatest value of any shop purchase I have ever made

I'll second that! I used to buy pencils by the box-full from the local office supply and those pencil eating critters would get them all in a mtter of days!

I have 3 or 4 of them, in fact I have one clipped near the phone in my shop and another clipped to the wall by my MS. I tried using one at work but gave up after people claimed it was too geeky even for me.:confused:

Rick

[Greg Cole]

Tool belt for large construction style jobs like decks etc, but not in the shop.
I keep the necessities on a tool storage chest within arms reach of the bench so I don't wear an apron either.
I wear a baseball hat 99.9% of the time, pencils are easily loacted stuffed inside the rim of the hat as ya can't stick a pencil behind yer ear with a lid on.;)
Now my wife would be pleased as punch if I'd stop wearing hooded sweatshirts as the front pocket seems to accumulate "stuff".:rolleyes:

[Lee Schierer]

I would recommend one of these:
Lee Valley Pouchless Tool Belt (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=53927&cat=1,43413,45992)

[Dave Cav]

If I'm working outside doing framing, I wear a tool belt with two leather nail pouches and suspenders. I don't do much of that any more.

In the shop both at home and at school I wear an apron 100% of the time. It helps keep the sawdust and other stuff off my clothes, but mostly gives me a place to wipe glue and finish off my fingers instead of my pants. It also helps me keep track of my tape measure and pencils. If you think pencils disappear fast in your shop, try a high school wood shop with 20 kids none of whom seem to be able to grasp the concept of owning a pencil. I spend half my time picking up pencils all over the school and they all will usually be gone by the end of the day. I have made it a habit to pick up really short pieces of pencils, sharpen them with my pocket knife, and keep them in the front lower apron pocket. After a student gets one of those a couple of times they usually remember to bring their own.

[Mick Zelaska]

After trying every apron, belt and pouch known to man I found this vest at Woodcraft and really like it. Lots of conveniently placed pockets for tapes, pencils, rulers and other tools that need to be near at hand and distributes the weight evenly over the shoulders.

http://www.woodcraft.com/search/search.aspx?query=vest

[Peter Quadarella]

I found an apron with back straps that is very light and I use it all the time. One big reason is that it gets dust and chips all over it and I can take it off and not bring all that into the house. The other reason is that I have a few items in there that I use all the time - a pencil, a 3" sliding square, remote control to my radio, a tape measure or folding rule, and a 6" steel rule, and a piece of chalk.

[John Schreiber]

Often I have just a few minutes to work in the shop, so I don't have time to change clothes. I pull an apron on and I can work in whatever I'm wearing.

It's one of these from Woodcraft. The pockets are only attached at the top so things don't fall out when I lean forward. That's great, but they do sometimes hang in the way when I am hand sawing.

http://www.woodcraft.com/images/products/15L03.jpg

I only have one pencil out at a time and I have trained myself to always put it back in my top front pocket each time I use it. There's a Sharpie marker there too which I find helpful when sharpening to see if my jig is set properly or if I need to write something big. I also carry a 6" rule there. The single lower pocket has a cut down paint brush which I use to clean off dust.

I customized it a bit by sewing a pocket on the inside near the top for my cell phone/mp3 player. It has a microphone/jack which comes out by my left shoulder which plugs into the wire for my hearing protection/head phones. I can answer the phone and talk through the head phones, but most often I listen to podcasts.

I also replaced the strings which hold it up with some wider straps and a caribiner around the back instead of a tie at the waste. If I ever custom make one, I'd like an apron which comes all the way up to the neck, but still goes to knee level.

[Mac McQuinn]

I typically don't wear a apron although since I seem to leave pencils and tape measures everywhere but where I can find them, I wear a sliding pencil tape measure holder through my belt.

Mac

[BOB OLINGER]

Super post and discussion. I usually wear my tool belt so my tape measure is handy. Same for pencils although the pencil slots/pockets don't work very well. For some reason, I've never thought of the apron thing, but I'm set to find one and give it a try asap. Tool belt is good for construction, but not suited for shop woodworking.

[Chris Padilla]

C'mon, Festool's apron is THE BEST. We all know any Festool is as good as gold!! ;)

:D :D

[Brian Loucks]

Just the other day I ran across the Fastcap salesman at my local hardware store. He had a
Ballistic Apron

sample. Looked pretty handy. The pockets bottoms were velcro so you could easily clean out any sawdust. I might give one a try after I build up my tool allowance. Just bought a Kreg Pocket hole kit.

[Peter Quinn]

I usually wear carhartt pants or bibb overalls and that's about as close as I get to an apron or tool belt. I keep a 6" steel rule, a small engineer's square, a pencil maybe on my person. I hate having things strapped to me. Funny thing is as a professional chef I wore the heavest weight English butchers apron I could find even in the summer and felt naked in the kitchen without it, but in the wood shop I feel smothered by the same basic item. I can never find a thing in all those pockets.

I vastly prefer working with all my tools neatly laid out on the bench before me (translation: giant pile of crap in which I can find nothing). I keep a tool chest with more specialized lay out tools, planes and chisels behind me at my bench, and I'm slowly learning to put things back in their place as I am finished with them. I wear 'the old glue trousers' for messier glue ups, and clothes dedicated to the shop for every thing else, no need for me to wear a special smock .

[Jason White]

I have a couple of these and like them a lot. They do a nice job of taking the weight off of your hips. They're also relatively cheap.

http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/98320.aspx?feature=&kw=apron


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 :D 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!

[Greg Hines, MD]

I wear a leather toolbelt most of the time. I do have a leather apron that I wear for turning, and sometimes on top of my clothes, but under the belt. Mostly depends on how cold it is.

Doc

[Paul Kinneberg]

I wear a LV apron that i've had for about 10 years its the first thing I do when I get in the shop. Fore the most part it keeps chips/dust off me and holds my pencil, 6" ruler and Dust collector remote.