Candace Osmond is a #1 International & USA TODAY Bestselling Author and Award-Winning blogger and screenwriter. She spends her free time testing and reviewing top quality products for Homedit while she resides on the rocky East Coast of Canada with her husband, two kids, and slobbery bulldog.
If you’ve ever worked with wood before, you know that this can be both a rewarding and a messy job. In efforts to make everything more efficient, it would be splendid if we could have a means of keeping all the tools we regularly need nearby. That’s where the woodworking apron kicks in. It keeps your clothes clean, your tools nearby, and saves you time that could be used for something else rather than searching for tools in the shed.
Pros & Cons of Using a Woodworking Apron
It’s only natural to want to stay as informed as possible before spending money on a new product, so if you’re not sure if a woodworking apron is the right purchase for you, let’s go over the main benefits and drawbacks of using such as product:
Pro: It protects your clothing from more than just wooden bits and splinters. When you’re working on a project where wood is involved, you’re most likely doing some drilling, cutting, sanding, even painting. All of these steps that are part of working projects are likely to get your clothes very dirty, and a woodworking apron can prevent that from happening.
Con: They can be hot. Woodworking aprons are generally thicker compared to a kitchen apron, let’s say. That means that you’re always going to feel like you have an extra layer of clothing on you. Working in the summer in a heated garage with this thing on… well, you can see how that might be a drawback for some people.
Pro: They keep your tools close. When you wear a woodworking apron, it’s like having a toolbox with the tools you most frequently use following you around. That means that whenever you need a pencil, or a hammer, or a screwdriver, you reach out for one of the many pockets and hooks and belts that these aprons are designed with and you won’t have to babble around looking for that one screw that you need.
Con: They can get heavy. Woodworking aprons aren’t generally heavy per se, but people that use them tend to fill their pockets with bits and tools, making the apron feel very heavy in the end. Without it, there wouldn’t be anywhere to store all those tools on you (unless you use a tool belt, of course), so you won’t have to carry that much weight around.
Projects that Use Woodworking Aprons
OK, so you now know what a woodworking apron is and what it’s good for, so let’s give you some cool project ideas where you could put that apron to good use.
Trunk Planter
When you’re making a trunk planter for a small plant, you won’t be working with any large pieces of wood. However, this project does involve some drilling and sanding, which means that you’re likely to get your clothes dirty if you don’t use a woodworking apron.
For this project, you are going to need a tree trunk that measures around 4 or 5 inches in diameter, a hand drill, a 2-inch forstner drill bit, some sanding paper, some beeswax, spray paint, and painters tape. The steps are clearly listed and the end results for this project is adorable and rewarding.
Hanging Frame
If you’ve made cool paintings or want to hang prints in a more original way, you can use wood to make your own parallel frames and hang the art on the wall. Aside from the art piece itself, you are going to need a piece of wood, measuring tape, some sandpaper, a drill, two popsicle sticks, a saw and a saw blade, twin, and scissors.
As you can imagine the drilling and the sanding bit will make quite a mess, so you’re going to need a woodworking apron if you want to keep your clothes clean. The apron also helps keep all the tools at hand if you have limited tabletop space to work with.
Elastic Memory Board
If you could create a very useful and cool-looking elastic memo board with minimal cost and effort, would you do it? Besides, if you have a woodworking apron, it’s a good opportunity to put it to good use. The project implies drilling some poles into a piece of plywood and attaching some elastic headbands that will keep whatever you put on the board in place. Easy and fun, perfect for a Saturday afternoon!
Coffee Table
With only $15 and 30 minutes at your disposal (oh, and a woodworking apron), you can make this cool-looking coffee table with a wooden base and floor/wall tile tabletop. This project is a little messier than the others, since you’ll be working with larger pieces of wood, and there’s also drilling and sanding involved.
Hexagonal Tray
Did you know you can make this beautiful hexagonal wooden tray with just a few pieces of wood and some other supplies that most of you already have lying around the house? You’re going to need a protractor and a straightedge to do the measurements, while the rest of the project involves some cutting, some sanding, some gluing, some spray painting, and a little bit of patience. Oh, and let’s not forget the woodworking apron!
Made entirely out of the waxed canvas, this woodworking apron is perfect for men who love to get their hands dirty but have all the tools needed at their disposal. The heavy-duty 20 oz. waxed canvas construction excels in durability, but the quality stitching also plays an important part here. It comes with nine tool pockets so one can have everything at hand when needed. The storage for this apron includes a leather hanging loop, various chest pockets, a magnetic pocket for attaching nails and screws, and even a metallic hanging loop for heavier tools. The Snap-Fit design of the waistband helps you put on the apron in minutes, but also provides a snug fit that makes it easier for you to move around while wearing it.
Here is another one of the best-waxed canvas aprons that money can buy. It comes with quality stitching and a sturdy construction that makes it perfect in every way. This apron measures 27 x 34 inches and it covers your body up to a point where staining your clothes becomes almost impossible. It is made with a tough material that somehow manages to be highly flexible, offering you freedom of movement. It comes with more pockets that you’ll ever need, but also includes a zippered pocket for your phone, a safety glasses strap, quick release buckles, and even a hammer loop. The apron is reinforced with grommet and has a water-resistant surface.
Here is another super cool woodworking apron available in two color options. It is designed with reinforced edges so that the fabric and stitches won’t come loose anytime soon. It features an impressive number of 16 pockets, three of them being located on the chest, another three having large pouches for storing more items or perhaps larger ones, and 10 slip pockets. Each side of the apron comes with its own tool loops, useful for hanging larger tools, such as hammers. The belt is adjustable to accommodate waists between 32 and 52 inches. The fabric of this woodworking apron is canvas.
The BEEAOOwoodworking apron is made from waxed canvas and has a waterproof construction that makes it perfect for those that like to get their hands dirty. It has a total of 11 pockets that are distributed as follows: three chest pockets that are suitable for writing utensils, one magnetic pocket for nails and screws, two leather hanging loops, two metallic pockets, two tool pockets, and two pockets for large tools. It has an adjustable design for sizes between M and XXL. The padded cross-back straps help prevent neck injuries, while the waist adjustability offers a snug fit for easier movement.
Our next suggestion is the NoCry woodworking apron, available in a version with 16 tool pockets, and another one with 26 tool pockets. The pockets are there to help you organize your tool but, most importantly, to make sure that you have the ones you most frequently use always at your disposal. It comes with padded shoulder straps that make the weight of the apron and all the tools pretty comfortable. The waist and neck straps are adjustable to ensure a tight fit. The NoCry apron is made from waterproof canvas and the straps are double-sewn.
If you’re looking for a more unisex design in a woodworking apron, you should check out the Briteree. It features 21 tool pockets that come in various sizes to fit all sorts of bits and tools, but also a phone pocket and some that are designed for pencils or markers. The magnetic strips located on the chest are perfect for small metallic objects that you simply don’t want to lose, like bolts and screws. It is made with 16 oz. durable canvas and reinforced pockets that can carry a lot of weight without the seams coming loose.
Bottom Line
Professional woodworkers almost always wear this type of apron for a variety of reasons. The number one benefit of such a product is the fact that it allows you to carry around all the tools you need. Of course, this is not mandatory if you’re the occasional woodworking enthusiast that mostly tackles small projects, but when you have to move around a lot, having the needed tools with you can help save precious time.
FAQ
What is an apron in woodworking?
A woodworking apron is similar in design to a regular kitchen apron, but it is made from more resistant materials and comes with plenty of pockets and means of hanging tools that woodworkers need on a regular basis.
What should I look for in a woodworking apron?
When it comes to picking a woodworking apron, there are four things to focus on first: materials, weight, maintenance, and adjustability. Leather and wax aprons are the best in terms of materials, lightweight aprons make it easier for you to move around, maintenance is also about how frequent you have to wash it and its exposure to wear and tear because of that, an adjustability around the neck and waist is a must-have feature.
How do you make a work apron?
Making a work apron might sound intimidating, but as long as you use a paper cutout as a template, the rest is pretty much measuring, cutting, and sewing. You can use waterproof fabrics to make your work apron and don’t forget to plan out the pockets that you want.
Why do woodworkers wear aprons?
Generally speaking, people that work with wood as a hobby don’t really need a woodworking apron, as this is more a protection and efficiency-related item designed for professional woodwoekers. However, nothing is stopping you from buying one for yourself because the benefits are clearly there. With a woodworking apron, a professional can carry all the tools needed with them all the time, saving time otherwise wasted in having to look for them. It also keeps one’s clothes cleaner from oil spills, splinters, sawdust, and more.
