Thread: Ode on an Apron

'S'okay Luke, as long as you don't start wearing a collared shirt and a bow tie under your apron, I'll still speak to you......

Pretty skirt

Reading your post,
I was clearly reminded of someone very ,very close to me.
I think my wife knows his name .
I will ask her later maybe from a distance.

PTO another great right up ,Luke
Cheers Matt

Ha Ha , great story Luke !
I really like a good apron . I started wearing them for the same ruined clothes reason you did.
Just a cheap light weight one for a while .
Same as you, I was hooked , so much that I knew I needed a custom one .
To hold the tools I needed close to me.
So I went about getting a lovely deep blue scrap hide which happened to be hanging on a roll and made
my own.
Hand stitched with a coarse string , to hold a folding rule I wet a piece of hide and pressed it
over a wooden form then stitched that on when dry , then finished that off at the bottom with a large old brass stud.
I had a slit where my tape measure hung .
What I really liked, was a little pocket just down in front, below my left shoulder
on my chest, to hold my scribe , A scribe I had made from an Upholstery spring , it was sharpened down to a fine point .
A hard or impossible tool to carry in clothing even with its hook at the top for hanging up on clothing . The stiff leather made it safe to carry that way. I could move around without spiking myself. Another pocket for pencils as well.

This set up was the best way Ive ever worked, it lasted until that apron wore out , I have never got around to making one as good, that held just what I needed. Tape measure , folding rule , pens and pencils. Scale rule as well, along side the folding rule.
I like the way you can take an apron off if you have to head out for a while.

Since then I had another plain leather with no pockets. Then I got a bag of ten really tough sailcloth type , plain once again .
They last a long time but with enough glue build up they crack in half.
If you love your apron, don't wipe glue on it when your wondering how to get it off your fingers
Ive always wanted the first type again .
I'm looking at that link . Just what I would like again.
The twin straps over the back look like they would be more comfortable than just the strap around the back of the neck.
By the sounds of things over my shoulder I don't think it will be a pressie though. .she's suffering Price shock.
I know I couldn't make one for that price.

Rob

Had to wear an apron at trade school, first thing I pick up when I enter the workshop, wouldn't be without it

I used to wear an apron in my first printing job as a kid. Moved onto a dust coast after that and wore one for years, pockets everywhere.

TT

What a coinkydink!

SWMBO has grown weary of patching my shirts, pants and overalls - she reckons I look homeless - so I've been looking at various aprons myself.

I'm actually considering a welder's apron instead... no pockets, but it should handle the wear'n'tear I tend to put 'em through at work and the price is right. (Besides, I can still wear my faithful overalls, patches, stains & all, underneath. )

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

.....SWMBO has grown weary of patching my shirts, pants and overalls - she reckons I look homeless ......

Mine refuses to mend my lovely, comfortable 'shed clothes' so once they reach the stage I'm likely to get arrested if I appeared in public in them, they go in the washing machine one last time and become shed rags (literally).

I just can't get on with aprons dangling about my person, I have a morbid fear of catching them in something spinning at warp speed & disappearing into said machine along with it. I was running some wood over a jointer once, and as I leaned forward to complete the stroke, a bit of T-shirt must've been sticking out & somehow managed to find the end of the cutter head. I felt a whack at the back of my neck as 1/2 the shirt instantly went into the bowels of the machine. Luckily, it was a well-loved shirt that disintegrated easily, or I might have gotten more than the very big fright I did get. So you can bet your life sleeves are always well rolled-up & everything well tucked-away before I go near anything that spins, these days......

Cheers,

My favourite shed clothing is a pair of Carhart Duck weave cotton bib and brace overalls that I bought in the US.
Initially they were quite stiff but 6 years on and they are now very comfortable although they now have a few tears and holes.
Because of these overalls I have since started buying duck weave cotton gear but none of it is really quite a comfortable as the Carhart stuff
In terms of aprons I have 2 suede leather, a normal size brown one for WW, and a custom made (longer length and higher front) black one for MW.
I hardly wear the WW one but the MW one is great for when there are sparks flying around and it has probably stopped me setting my regular clothes on fire a few times
I got mine from maka.com.au - Not sure if the site is functional or not as none of the images show up on the website.

Like yourself Luke I never envisaged myself wearing one either, I figured it was cheaper to make one than keep ruining decent clothe. Still not finished but you get the idea.
SAM_1891.JPG

GUYS. GUYS. Whats all this namby-pamby clothing/fashion talk? We're supposed to talk about MAN STUFF like wood and TOOLS and sharp things that make dust and chips. Yes Tools like Titan chisels and Norris infills. BUT PINAFORES. Come on. Who cares if machines, acids and moths eat our workshop clothes. Wear whats left in pride until they fall or rot off. Who washes them? Not me. Maybe leather aprons like blacksmiths have might pass (wrap a bull skin around me to stop the red metal Igor!) or a knights leather jerkin under armour wear, but monogrammed material with cute/handy little pockets and belts. NO Luke. Even as presents from our women. I like them complaining about how crappy, holey and stinking our workshop clothes are. Its the essence of man stuff. Its a man "cave" OK so wear the skins of animals if you must (preferably shot by you for food) but not "workshop fashion". I feel great when I pull whats left of my old clothes on. I LIKE THE SMELL. I like the holes and chewed bits, the torn and slashed machine damage, the burn holes and nail piercings and the pieces that drop off and end up under the varnish of some of my furniture. SO, back up on the workshop fashion people and wear those cut down left over 70's flairs and holey, crud/sweat caked 80's polo necks and tie dyed T shirts. Man up guys. Look and smell like an old woodworker. AND, just to make a statement to her indoors, skip a shower once in a while. She'll love you for it. Remember, it starts with aprons and ends with hair nets.
Doggie. Sweaty Titan guy.

I was slow to take up the apron but her indoors made me one to save the clothes a bit. Only cotton canvas however not cool looking leather.
Good bit was I got to say what pockets I wanted. I also have a couple of operation theater gowns I use for turning as the apron does not quite cut it for that task.
Regards
John

My kids gave me a "SuperDad" apron when I first took up woodworking, without pockets. So I begged SWMBO to add some pockets for me, and I love it. Of course, since we last moved house I can't find the bloody thing...

I don't have an apron of coverall, just regular work wear.

Originally Posted by Doggie

.... but monogrammed material with cute/handy little pockets and belts.....

Quite often I am without a pocket to use as that gets filled with shavings.

Originally Posted by Doggie

..... I like them complaining about how crappy, holey and stinking our workshop clothes are. Its the essence of man stuff......

Braver man than I Doggie. Braver man than I.