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

Tom the Remodeler

Tom the Remodeler

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Dec 30, 2007
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1,106
Hi folks! I've responded to a few posts, but I wanted to start a thread for once! I make my living as a residential remodeler, and for work I couldn't be more happy with my current tool harness, an Occidental Stronhold Beltless system (http://www.bestbelt.com/product/belt-free/8098_beltless.html). However, I don't really need my whole rig when I'm doing finer wood working or trim work, and I've been ogling the new Occidental OxyPro Work Vest (http://www.bestbelt.com/product/belt-free/2575_beltless.html), and I'm wondering:

Does anybody else have experience wearing the OxyPro work vest?

What do other Festool users wear when they're in the workshop?

And, for the other folks who make their living out in the field, what kinds of tool belts do you wear? Do you have one belt that does everything, or do you have a general carpentry rig, and a finish/woodworking rig?
 
I think tools belts/harnesses are an American thing - I don't see many tradespeople in the UK wearing them. When I was working as a site joiner, you'd have got laughed off site for wearing one. Having said that, you'd have probably gotten laughed off if you told them you'd spent nearly 500 quid on a circular saw...
 
you must work in a different contry to me jrb, how on earth you can work without a belt eludes me

ive had a tool belt since i started work in 1978, on a bad day my belt weighs towards 10Kg (22lbs)

without a tool belt on a civil enginnering site (shuttering carpenter) you wouldnt even get "the start"
 
didnt answer the original question, for my work

dewalt heavy duty buckled belt with a tool pouch (modified electricans), double fixings pouch and a hammer sling

the belt needed customising as well, im only 34 waist

no harness
 
dirtydeeds said:
you must work in a different contry to me jrb, how on earth you can work without a belt eludes me

ive had a tool belt since i started work in 1978, on a bad day my belt weighs towards 10Kg (22lbs)

without a tool belt on a civil enginnering site (shuttering carpenter) you wouldnt even get "the start"
Click to expand...

I guess it's different for your kind of work.

I mainly do kitchens/joinery in peoples homes, I don't do real 'site' work. If I wore a tool belt, I'd damage/scratch/mark something everytime I turned round!
 
I make furniture in a shop, so my need for a belt/apron is minimal.  Just something with a couple of pockets for a small square, 6 inch ruler, tape measure, and a pencil.  When I am spending time behind a spewing table saw or router table, I will wear a longer apron to keep the sawdust off.  Only time I wear a belt is the rare time when I spend a lot of time on a ladder.
 
Hi,

    Mostly shop work. No belt, no apron.  For installs and site work I don't need to move around much at all so nothing for that either.

Seth
 
For film work I hang a nylon belt with a custom pouch on the tool carts. ;D

We often work with cars and in people's home's so ditto the scratching. Anticipation is better than wearing everything. If you know you'll need something, pick it up on the next trip by the equipment.

I also work above the stage floor often, 30-65 feet or in a condor or JLG lift. Dropping something is the easiest way to not come back tomorrow.

For building trade/general remodeling/custom fab, I wear a single pocket leather pouch with a hammer loop, but only if I get up a ladder and need to keep screws handy or something.

The only thing I always wear is a pencil and a tape measure on a magnet clip. If I'm painting, a roll of tape on a cat collar.

I had a friend that wore the OXY vest. He'd start with just a hammer and square, maybe a screwdriver in it at the beginning of the day, and by lunch he had all sorts of crap swinging around, rolls of tape and scissors and tin snips and all. He'd bend over to pick something up off the floor and a screwdriver would fall out. Not for me. My least favorite feeling is trying to get between two framing studs or two set walls and have the crap get hung up and pin me in there. I would only wear a belt the whole day If I was rough framing.

There's another thread about aprons from a few months back.
 
You fibber. You served me tea out of that "face shield" last time I was over.
 
I mostly work in the shop, so I'll choose to wear a shop apron from Duluth Trading over a tool belt.  I mainly wear it so I have pencils, tape measure, square and anything else I need on me so I don't have to walk around the shop wondering where I set my tape measure.

Tom.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far fellas! I wear a tool rig almost everyday for work because I'm doing more rough carpentry. I'd prefer to carry fewer tools, but when you're hand framing a roof it's a pain in the butt to climb down the ladder every time you need another tool. What I'll typically do is determine at the beginning of each day what I'll be doing, and load my tool belt accordingly. For general carpentry my typical load-out is:
--- 14oz Titanium Hammer
--- Titanium cat's paw
--- small notebook for cut lists and notes
--- mechanical pencil
--- square carpenter's pencil
--- lumber crayon
--- black "Sharpie" marker
--- 6" combination square
--- 7" Speed Square
--- 3/4" wood chisel
--- nail sets
--- small Shark brand pry bar
--- Stabila torpedo level
--- Stanley Fat Max 25' tape
--- Scratch awl
--- side cutting pliers
--- End nipping pliers
--- 5" channel lock pliers
--- utility knife
--- chalk line

This is what I carry with me most days when I'm framing, siding, just doing general rough carpentry. It's enough to keep me going and minimize my trips to the tool box or truck which takes time, but I don't feel it's so much that I have undue clutter in my pouches, and the titanium hammer and cat's paw keeps the weight down.

I'm thinking I want a smaller rig though for trim carpentry, and for the cabinetry I've found myself doing more of. Tom, I'm familiar with the Duluth Trading Company, which of their pouches do you prefer? BTW, I bought my first actual Festool tool today!! I picked up a TS55 and a CT22. The only thing is, the kid at Woodcraft didn't seem to know anything about registering the tools, so I suppose I'll have to call Festool about that Monday?..... Anyways, yay for me!  ;D
 
Hi Tom,
  When I do finish work(mostly what I do) I use this apron from Duluth Trading.
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/...s_apronsandrobes/98320.aspx?feature=Product_3

  It does fill up with sawdust and the tiny vertical pockets poke me in my ample belly so I don't use them.
The feadback I've heard on the Oxy tool vest is that they are hot in the summer (cordura nylon) and I don't carry that much stuff for trim. 6" try square,Fast-Cap tape,lots of pencils,cut list,pencil sharpener, nail sets and a 10 oz. hammer.

I do carry all the stuff you mention for more general construction and use the Oxy Light belt with suspenders.
 
I bought the Oxy Work Vest and then returned it.  It may work OK if you are are over say 5' 10".    I'm short and couldn't get it to fit worth a hoot. 

I currently have two tool belts and multiple pouches that add or subtract to meet current needs.  In general, I have a heavy workbelt for the bigger stuff, but mostly wear a lighter work belt with a couple of smaller pouches. 

Several of my pouches are Oxy, but I have others too.  OXY makes great stuff, but they tend to be a bit heavy and stick out horizontally.  I.e., I bang into things when wearing the belts and OXY pouches.

Regards,

Dan.
 
I have the Skillers Flexi System tool belt, I love it. I only use it on the jobsite, use the back pockets of shop work.
 
Mike Chrest said:
Tom,
   Here's another possibility. It's a work vest from Skillers.
http://www.skillers.com/cgi-bin/sto...9607&session=478ba7202587c841&L=eng&P=4606-12

I don't have one so can't give a review on how well they work but looks hopeful. I like the mesh at the back.

Dan,
  I think they have different sizes in these.
Click to expand...
Mike,

It looks like they have multiple sizes.  The problem isn't the size, it's the length.  I'd probably wear a medium to large, but I'm pretty short.  If manufacturers make assumptions at all, they assume that small = short and large = tall.  Most of the time, they don't even do that.  They make things smaller, but not shorter. 

They don't publish the specs, but I'd bet that the pockets are the same height and location for most sizes.  That would mean that short guys have the pockets too low and the tall guys have the pockets too high. 

I've worked this issue multiple times.  Most of the time, it's a universal truth that short people and tall people loose out to the "average" people.  I've given up. :( 

Dan.

 
I have the Kevlar denim apron that I bought when they were on clearance.  The pockets do stick open and fill up with sawdust sometimes (routing and turning mostly) but it's a good place to carry all the things I use over and over and protects my shirt and pants from snags.
I believe Duluth replaced it with one made from fire hose material.  They also sell a shop coat, but my shop gets a little warm in the summer months.

Tom.
 
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