# Shop attire for the well-dressed machinist.



## DICKEYBIRD (Nov 18, 2007)

Here's a tip that is probably obvious to most of you but didn't occur to me until a few months ago.

A shop apron is a great weapon to add to the workshop.  I don't do a thing in my shop without 1st tying on an apron fitted with the basic accessories shown here.  It performs the obvious role of keeping oil & debris off your shirt and britches but more importantly it stores the often-used gadgets close to hand.  After a few hours of use, your hands will go right to that needed tool instantly.  No wasting time fumbling around looking for it!







Oh yeah, almost forgot, right after the apron goes on, I put on a pair of thin, nitrile gloves.  Keeps the hands clean & tidy for caressing your sweetie at a moment's notice but not strong enough to suck a hand into the spinning machinery.


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## shred (Nov 18, 2007)

What?  No coat and tie? 






Seriously I'm a fan of the shop apron as well, though they put the ties in the wrong spot on the cheap ones.  Pre-populating them with the common tools is a great idea.. I'm always laying them down somewhere and spending 5 minutes remembering where I put them.


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## DICKEYBIRD (Nov 18, 2007)

shred said:
			
		

> Seriously I'm a fan of the shop apron as well, though they put the ties in the wrong spot on the cheap ones.


The ties seem too high on mine so I must have a cheapie.  Where do you get "The Good-uns."  Got a link?

Cheers,
Milton


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## Bogstandard (Nov 18, 2007)

It also depends on how big you are.
In my case they would have to be lengthened a lot.

John


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## lugnut (Nov 18, 2007)

:lol: Ok Marv show us your shop apron that's held on with magnets :lol: 
Mel


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## DICKEYBIRD (Nov 18, 2007)

Marv has written a program that automatically figures the tie-strap length for you.

You just enter your age, your height and how many beers and cheeseburgers you've had since last Tuesday!


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## mklotz (Nov 18, 2007)

Yes, and a damn difficult program to write it was.  All computations had to be done with logarithms since the average desktop computer can't handle numbers that large directly.


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## Tin Falcon (Nov 18, 2007)

You know the old saying "One size fits all" The means it really does not fit anyone!!
Tin


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## gilessim (Nov 18, 2007)

all these engineering skills, and yet... a needle and thread...?, or even a couple of pop rivets to hold ones custom made ties on?


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## Hexbasher (Nov 18, 2007)

saw this in the shop at school 2 years ago


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## Don Huseman (Mar 1, 2008)

I question using gloves in a machine shop. I have a Strong tendency to grab the Jacobs chuck with my hand a stop the spindle from spinning when I turn of the machine and if I had a glove on I think it might grab and brake my arm. I also put my hand on the lathe chuck . I have not heard of any problem doing this but I think it is a bad practice. 
One thing I do use that is good in the shop is a sleeveless jacket or quilted vest. My vest looks like a army flack jacket with pockets and lots of place to put mic etc. It keeps me warm down to about 40. It is black so I don't care about it getting dirty. I have shop aprons but for some reason I don't were them. I will some time tuck a shop rag like a little apron over the front of my pants and I use it to wipe my hands on.


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## Tin Falcon (Mar 1, 2008)

Don:
Gloves around machineries is a real No No. . There is a thread around here telling of an experienced machinist losing a finger . IIRC the glove caught on a drill bit. 
 I like the Idea of a machinist utility vest. In USAF tech school sleeves had to be rolled up before crossing the safety line. A shop I worked in only issued short sleeve uniform shirts. Loose clothing can ruin ones day.
Tin


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## BobWarfield (Mar 1, 2008)

I'm in the no gloves, no pockets, no loose cuffs (or apron strings) camp myself. I got a Tilman welding jacket and where that. The bad news: it does not have any pockets whatsoever by design. The good news: they're cheap on eBay, and they deflect chips like crazy. However, I do wear sensible loafers in the shop. Why? Because with no tread they don't pick up chips.

Cheers,

BW


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## old-biker-uk (Mar 1, 2008)

Mine looks like it could do with a wash.




Mark


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## tattoomike68 (Mar 1, 2008)

old-biker-uk  said:
			
		

> Mine looks like it could do with a wash.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No, just scrape it clean with a putty knife. it looks "broke in" as it is.


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## rake60 (Mar 1, 2008)

This has been an interesting thread.

It's made us think a bit.
Step back 100 years and take a look at what was considered appropriate 
machine shop attire.





Long sleeves and bib overalls were the fashion of the day.
In those days cutting speeds were very slow and flying chips weren't really much 
of a hazard. Stringer chips WERE!
Mix that with long leather flat belts slapping around from the overhead line shaft
and you had to keep your head in the game.

It gets worse. Shoes were soled with leather.
The shop floors then were thick oak planks to support the weight of the machines.
To preserve the the wood, the floors were regularly coated with linseed oil.
Have you ever tried to run a lathe wearing skates?

Every day offers an opportunity to learn how to be safer.
Safer can be as simple as putting on a shop apron.

Rick


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## DICKEYBIRD (Mar 2, 2008)

Great pic Rick, I love the old stuff. I see it's from the Henry Ford collection...wonder what they're making. The guy on the Rt. foreground looks to be making part of the planetary gearset in the T-Model. Ahh, the stories those fellows could tell!

I took the liberty of converting it to BW. Who do you reckon the guy is I've pointed out? White shirt, neat hair, sitting down. Gotta be a manager keeping up with every scrapped part, broken tool and wasted minute. Primed & ready to dock somebody's pay!


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## rake60 (Mar 2, 2008)

That picture is indeed from the Henry Ford Collection.

The information I have on it states it was taken at the
Autocar Company of Ardmore, PA sometime around 1900.

I have quite a collection of old photos from early machine shops.
I've always found the shop conditions and dress of the day interesting.
I'd posted this picture of a Briggs and Stratton shop before, but it's 
worth adding here.




Long dresses at a lathe? ???

Rick


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## Loose nut (Mar 2, 2008)

The Henry Ford museum use to have some small machine tools on display, about the size of Taig or Sherline stuff, really high quality fullly detailed miniature versions of the full sized equipment. 

He also ran his own schools, sort of a social experiment, these miniatures were used there, his theory was if you want to teach a 10 years boy how to be a machinist you use tools that are the right size for a 10 year old boy. If you went to his school you were trained and when old enough you had a job waiting for you, an aprentice program on steriods.

The museum also use to have a lot of models on display but most of them have been put away now.


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## shred (Mar 5, 2008)

Saw a picture the other day of somebody running around a cast iron foundry in India in _bare feet_!


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