What kinds of shop aprons/tool belts do people wear??

[Eli]

Most of the time, it's a universal truth that short people and tall people lose out to the "average" people.  I've given up.  

Dan.

Not true. There are a lot of average people. I'm right down the middle on every size there is. How often do you think I can get a nice shirt or a pair of shoes on clearance? Almost never. But just look at how many size 7's or 13's or XS there are in the bins. I'm telling you average people got no reason to live. 

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Wow fellas, thanks for the feedback so far!!

DirtyDeeds: Yeah, I looked at the DeWalt pouches a few years ago, they looked very heavy duty, but a big limiting factor for me is I need to wear my tools from my shoulders, I get shooting pains up and down my back if I wear anything more than my pants on my waist for more than a few minutes.

Mike and Tom: I've noticed the Duluth Trading Firehose apron before, but didn't give it much though, it sounds like it's worth a closer look! Does it distribute the weight of your tools pretty well?

Dan: I very much agree that the Oxy tool belts tend to be kinda "wide", causing a great deal of sidestepping through finished houses to avoid scratches. BTW, a trick I learned to avoid my hammer scratching things in a finished room is to carry it upside down in my right side tool pouch, so the head is pointed down and the handle sticks straight up. It took me a little time to get used to it, but it feels very natural now.

Brice: I too used to wear the Skillers system. I actually still wear (and ADORE) the Skillers pants and "Pirate  Trousers"!! My old rig was a modified Skillers vest, where I removed the holster pockets and epoxied velcro tabs to the waist so I could attach the Flexi Pocket pouches on either side. I very much liked the way that my tools were stored more "vertically", all over my torso rather than swinging around my waist. I still have the rig, and should really give it a try as a trim rig. I'm really intrigued by the new vest Skillers released in Europe, the 4294, does anybody have any experience with this vest? It basically looks like what I tried to do at home, where it has flexi velcro attachments all around the waist so you can connect multiple flexi pouches to it, I think it looks awesome, but Skillers USA has been telling me "It'll be here in a few months" for approximately two years now, so I'm not holding my breath.....
http://www.snickers.se/Snickers/market/products/productDetails.aspx?src=pDet

 

[Eli]

BTW, a trick I learned to avoid my hammer scratching things in a finished room is to carry it upside down in my right side tool pouch, so the head is pointed down and the handle sticks straight up. It took me a little time to get used to it, but it feels very natural now.

I carry the Stiletto Framer. The rubber tip from a #3 spring clamp fits the claw perfectly.

 

[Dan Clark]

Wow fellas, thanks for the feedback so far!!
...
Dan: I very much agree that the Oxy tool belts tend to be kinda "wide", causing a great deal of sidestepping through finished houses to avoid scratches. BTW, a trick I learned to avoid my hammer scratching things in a finished room is to carry it upside down in my right side tool pouch, so the head is pointed down and the handle sticks straight up. It took me a little time to get used to it, but it feels very natural now.
...

Tom,

I've learned to side step a lot, but I'd still like to get something more narrow.  I considered Diamond Back Tool belts because they seem to fits more closely (http://toolbelts.com/).  However but the price is a tad bit too high for me. 

If I get frustrated enough, I may try their "Stealth Pouch":http://toolbelts.com/pouches.php.)  $95 just for the pouch; with $11.65 shipping that comes to $106.64!  Ouch.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[Eli]

Thanks for that link. I like those. Ouch for you? Think about shipping for me!

 

[Ned]

... a roll of tape on a cat collar.
...

Uh, is this trade slang, or do you mean a collar for cats?  Wear it as a bracelet, with the leash loop as an attachment point?

Do you find the collars doused in anti-flea treatment worthwhile? 

Ned

 

[semenza]

Hi,

      I hate hauling all  that stuff around in big pouches dragging me dwon.  I don't need to use a tool belt much but even when I do , I try to take as little as possible.  I didn't much like anything available- to big, bulky, weight dragging on waist, not big enough, etc.  I ended up putting my own together based on military harness. Almost all the weight is on the shoulders. Plus I can customize what I carry simply by adding or removing various pouches and holders.  I havn't actually used it in years because the way I work has changed (less carpentry, more shop work).  I do like the look of the Skillers system shown in the post above though.

Seth

 

[Eli]

... a roll of tape on a cat collar.
...

Uh, is this trade slang, or do you mean a collar for cats?  Wear it as a bracelet, with the leash loop as an attachment point?

Do you find the collars doused in anti-flea treatment worthwhile? 

Ned

Well, some people use a dog collar, but I think it doesn't hang high enough up. Dog collar works good if you want to keep all your rolls of tape together though. You don't even have to go to a pet store, they always have them in the supermarket. You want an adjustable nylon one with a plastic snap buckle. I like black but there are plenty of pink ones and I'm sure our favorite, day-glo green.

Don't get one with a bell unless you want to pretend there's a fairy in your shop.

You put it through your pants belt, with the tape roll in it. If you put the roll of tape on there coming over the top (think of the two ways to hang toilet paper), ie. facing forward, you can hold the roll with one hand, and pull the tape off the roll with the other. When you get the length you want, flip a half loop forward into the tape, pulling it up back tight at the roll in a 45, with it folded under itself. Then pull down towards the center of the roll, putting more pressure on the backside edge of the tape, the goal being to rip it off.

Some tape you can really snap your pull and the piece just pops off. It rips off square at the end, leaving you the right length in your one hand and a 45 tab on the roll. After the first rip, there's always a grab tab on the roll, saving you a ton of time if you're masking something. Plus all the pieces you put down are easy to pull up, because they have a tab on the end. Takes minimal practice to get good at it.

We make the electricians wear the anti flea ones before they're allowed in the grip truck.  ;D

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Tom,
 

I've noticed the Duluth Trading Firehose apron before, but didn't give it much though, it sounds like it's worth a closer look! Does it distribute the weight of your tools pretty well?

Well it is just an apron. : The strap around your neck is wide (1 1/2" webbing) and it is connected with a strap down the center of your back to a thin waist belt. So the thing hangs from your shoulders not the back of your neck.

If you put more than the basics in it you won't be happy. If I'm working in one spot I use the apron and have a bucket of "extra" tools( I cinch my tool belt around the outside of the bucket and fill the inside with first aid kit, dust mask,framing hammer,nippers,cats paw,tin snips etc.)

If I am up on a ladder for crown molding I wear the tool belt.

Eli,
Nice tip about the spring clamp tip.

Mike

 

[Eli]

Eli,
Nice tip about the spring clamp tip.

Mike

I learned it the hard way. When I first got the hammer the claw was pretty sharp. I used to wear it on my back, through a loop in my gear suspenders. I was working on a really tight set, with lights and flag stands everywhere. The Gaffer was trying to get into the set to use his light meter and pushed past me sort of roughly as a joke, but there wasn't enough room for both of us and the hammer and he gouged himself up pretty good. I felt bad, but it taught him not to try and push a Grip out of the way. 

Only takes a second to pull it off for use, and I haven't racked up any more wood or soft tissue damage since. If it's too tight to slip on, throw it in a pot of hot water for a few minutes, a la, sports mouthguard.

 

[Tinker]

Wow fellas, thanks for the feedback so far!!

I looked at the DeWalt pouches a few years ago, they looked very heavy duty, but a big limiting factor for me is I need to wear my tools from my shoulders, I get shooting pains up and down my back if I wear anything more than my pants on my waist for more than a few minutes.

Tom, i don't want to be presumptuous (hope that's the right word), but your mention of back pains from short duration of hanging items from your waist sends up red flags to me.  Perhaps you have done your own research, but if not, i would suggest an examination.  E-xray, MRI or any other method to determine either deterioration or out of allighnment of vertibrae or discs.  I have been there for well over fifty years and so i am concerned. 

For me, i can carry such loads around my hips, so long as i keep the belt loose enough that it hangs so low it almost falls off.  If i carry with belt into my lumbar/sacro area, i can be out of commission in a very short time.  from the shoulders, i can carry a heavy load so long as i keep my back straight and keep moving.  You seem to fit all of the second two, I don't know about the first (wearing belt almost to low)

I do hope my observations are wrong, but i do have a concern.
Tinker

 

[Tinker]

When I was a mason contractor, I wore Lee white work pants.  They were loose fitting and had pockets and lops all over them.  For the most part, i always carried a brick hammer, folding rule, steel tape (usually 25 ft), several pointing tools, pencil, knife and a few other items, depending on the job.

When I was doing form or scaffolding constrution, I exchanged the brick hammer for a 20 oz carpenter hammer.  At those times, i did need a nail bag.  If I was climbing (scaffold construction, I wore a cloth bag with two pockets for the two sizes of duplex nails needed.  For form work, i used a leather (fake leather) belt with the two pockets, again, two sizes of duplex nails.

Towards the end of my masonry days, kids, especially girls, started wearing those white pants with loops and pockets.  the manufacturers recognized this and started making the real flimsy and they would not last thru more than a job or two before falling apart.  I now need something only when working in my WW shop and for the most part, i wear an apron with lots of pockets and especially place for pencils and tape.  a belt just gets in the way and i can hardly move around my MFT.
Tinker

 

[Steveo48]

For the shop I wear a very low tech denim shop apron, two low pockets and one high breast pocket.

In construction mode, I gave up my tool belt years ago, I hated all that extra weight and tools poking me in the ribs or gonads when I bent over. 

Instead, I have a hammer loop in my pants and shorts and cargo pockets that I don't overload.  I use a 5 gallon bucket with a tool liner to carry most of the small stuff.  Power tools get drug in when I need them.

Steve

 

[richard.selwyn]

I brought a Bucket Boss nylon belt back from the US.  A lot of people here in France laugh at it, but when your ona ladder / roof etc it saves a lot of time.  I don't like wearing it though.
Festool have a hook system that will let you attach something (usually a drill) to your belt or a ladder.  Its quite handy - and for Festool quite cheap.

 

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Yep, I have the Festool belt hook and ladder hook set and now have one of their lanyards permanently secured to my CDD12 for every job whether at height or not to remind me. The good thing is it still fits back in its systainer even with the lanyard secured to it which is good and doesn't impact with the battery changeout.