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Lightweight longsleeve smock?

S

Steven Johnson

Joined
Jul 30, 2014
Messages
12
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1
Location
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Anyone know where to find one of these, My wife is getting tired of finding chippings hidden in the pockets of my shirts. :)

My shop AC is fighting to keep it barable here in the Arkansas sun - so something lightweight would be nifty....

Have to fit a fat guy too! :)

Anyone have any suggestions? almost all I find are short sleeve...
 
The AAW smock works for me. Get it big enough and only wear a T-shirt under it. It is short sleeved so I just use my air hose to blow off my arms and pants before I deal with the management.

Dave Fritz
 
I like my AAW smock. The one that I have is ten years old and starting to get a bit "seasoned" so I just ordered a new one. They are lightweight and ventilated. They are also oversized so if you order the same size as your shirts, it will have a sufficiently loose fit.
 
Lee Valley sells a long sleeve light weight one. Elastic cuffs. I use all the time and is very comfortable. Some on here would say that sleeves are unsafe, but I have found no trouble with them as long as you are aware of where you are at on the lathe.
 
Used ACU (Army Combat Uniform) top. I use my old tops from this last deployment. You even have a velcro throat protector to keep chips out of your shirt.
 
Bill Weaver said:
Lee Valley sells a long sleeve light weight one. Elastic cuffs. I use all the time and is very comfortable. Some on here would say that sleeves are unsafe, but I have found no trouble with them as long as you are aware of where you are at on the lathe.
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I suppose the elastic cuffs are some help or assurance......but, there is that thing called "Murphy's law". If you are counting on awareness to avoid a possible accident, it isn't absolutely reliable. I did wear long sleeves for a time, but I know me......and I know I can't rely on myself to always have absolute awareness. I am no longer using long sleeves when I turn. This is not to say that others cannot have better total awareness than I have....and, this isn't to suggest the elimination of long sleeves for turners.

Short sleeves are ok, and I use short sleeves, but I'd say the perfect length is just below the elbow, with most of the forearm left exposed.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, I recall some instructional material for industrial production workers.......If I'm not mistaken, this was a presentation film shown to the work crew of a lumber mill I worked at many years ago. Anyway, the message was that safety procedures can become "mechanical" in application, and severe accidents can occur when a combination of two things happen to interrupt that safety procedure. A worker's instinctive reaction to a combination of events are what interrupts a normal response that adheres to safety procedures.

After all is said and done, though......I know there are times when I live on the edge of safety when a particular benefit overrules my sense of what could be a safety problem......

ooc
 
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As has been stated there many things you can use as a turning smock. I use a pharmacist smock (was free from a company I once worked for) with some modification. Velcro at the neck and my DIL sewed flaps over pockets for chip control.
Any number of shirts could also be used. I like denham (sp ...blue jean) or for light ripstop nylon (safari shirt comes to mind). It is all just what you want to use, just be sure is sized so as not to restrict movement. The whole point is to protect your clothes and believe me it took me a while to learn a shop apron also saves on the clothing bill.
 
I received my new AAW smock today. It is very similar to the one that I got ten years ago, but the sleeves are slightly longer. On the new smock, the sleeves come almost to the elbow. The vent mesh is different. I will need to try it out to see if it is as effective as the older vent material. Everything else seems to be the same.
 
odie said:
I suppose the elastic cuffs are some help or assurance......but, there is that thing called "Murphy's law". If you are counting on awareness to avoid a possible accident, it isn't absolutely reliable. I did wear long sleeves for a time, but I know me......and I know I can't rely on myself to always have absolute awareness. I am no longer using long sleeves when I turn. This is not to say that others cannot have better total awareness than I have....and, this isn't to suggest the elimination of long sleeves for turners.

Short sleeves are ok, and I use short sleeves, but I'd say the perfect length is just below the elbow, with most of the forearm left exposed.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory, I recall some instructional material for industrial production workers.......If I'm not mistaken, this was a presentation film shown to the work crew of a lumber mill I worked at many years ago. Anyway, the message was that safety procedures can become "mechanical" in application, and severe accidents can occur when a combination of two things happen to interrupt that safety procedure. A worker's instinctive reaction to a combination of events are what interrupts a normal response that adheres to safety procedures.

After all is said and done, though......I know there are times when I live on the edge of safety when a particular benefit overrules my sense of what could be a safety problem......

ooc
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I 'm not saying I'm above all this. I too believe in the shorter sleeve. I do have some itch and break out problems with certain woods is why I use this smock.
 
Bill Weaver said:
I 'm not saying I'm above all this. I too believe in the shorter sleeve. I do have some itch and break out problems with certain woods is why I use this smock.
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Yes, of course, Bill....

Didn't mean to suggest that you were. In all things, we conduct ourselves according to our own evaluation of our needs. I have the exact same problem with itching when I rough some wet bowls. I've never noticed this happen when working with dryer wood.....only those that have a MC in the high 30's percent do I have this problem.

I don't, but if I did have access to many bowl blocks that needed to be roughed in succession, I can certainly see myself using long sleeves again. As it is, I don't have this circumstance. I can rough a single block of wood into a rough shape pretty quickly, so my exposure is minimal. (Sometimes, I feel like wearing a raincoat, though! Ha!)

Maybe wearing some garment that is form fitting to the arms might be a possible solution to those of us who do prefer to have the long sleeves.....? Something like long underwear top? The safety issue to some of those smocks, is the floppy sleeves. I'd be tempted to cut them off just below the elbow.

ooc
 
During the winter I use a nylon wind breaker I got from goodwill. It has the elastic at the end of the sleeve and does a wonderful job of keeping the sleeves out of the work.
The jacket is far too hot for tennessee summers and so is a smock over a t shirt so I just wear a pocketless t shirt and don't tuck it in so the shaving that go down your neck just fall out.
 
I didn't want to get my nice new smock dirty so I just wore a T-shirt today like John says that he does. Well, it was OK until shavings went down my collar. It is amazing how irritating shavings can be when they are in the middle of my back between my shoulder blades where I can't reach them.
 
Hi all

Surprised to hear a safety concern over long sleeves. Here in the UK all smocks are long sleeved, the only way to get short sleeves is to cut them off! The 2 main designs I've seen use either elastic or, most common, is velcro at neck and cuff. I wouldn't be without long sleeves because of the dust and shavings.

The maker over here is http://www.lovellworkwear.com/ they also embroider your name on them too, which is a nice touch. Not sure about them sending stuff over to the US but may be worth a call or email.

Hope this helps

Richard
 
Bill Weaver said:
That looks interesting
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Look at the summer sleeves for cyclists. The perspiration acts as a cooler on the arms. But if you breakout from wood, that will not help.
 
Try Packard Woodworks. I have their sleeveless apron that is 100% effective at keeping chips and shavings out of my shirt. It velcros at the back of the neck with a soft comfortable knit collar. Nothing sticks to this apron. I love it. http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer...de=packard&Product_Code=215601&Category_Code= They also list a long sleeve version. I haven't tried that one, I would want to ask them about breathability first.

Cindy
 
Cindy Cwi said:
Try Packard Woodworks. I have their sleeveless apron that is 100% effective at keeping chips and shavings out of my shirt. It velcros at the back of the neck with a soft comfortable knit collar. Nothing sticks to this apron. I love it. http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer...de=packard&Product_Code=215601&Category_Code= They also list a long sleeve version. I haven't tried that one, I would want to ask them about breathability first.

Cindy
Click to expand...

Thanks Cindy for making me (us) aware of this one, as I was not. Are there no sizes? One size fits all?

It does look good.

ooc
 
odie said:
Thanks Cindy for making me (us) aware of this one, as I was not. Are there no sizes? One size fits all?

It does look good.

ooc
Click to expand...

I think it comes in Large and X-Large, mostly based on neck size. There is a long back strap that adjusts for skinny and not so slim body types. Most turtlenecks feel like they are choking me, same with the crossover type of turning jacket necks. But the neck on this apron is comfy. And I still get shavings down my shirt with the crossover type, somehow those manage to find the space between the collar and top of the jacket. No problem with this one.
 
Lou Kinsey said:
Odie, my XL/XXL shirt size is better in the XL apron. I ordered the large first and wanted just a bit more room.
Click to expand...

Cindy Cwi said:
I think it comes in Large and X-Large, mostly based on neck size. There is a long back strap that adjusts for skinny and not so slim body types. Most turtlenecks feel like they are choking me, same with the crossover type of turning jacket necks. But the neck on this apron is comfy. And I still get shavings down my shirt with the crossover type, somehow those manage to find the space between the collar and top of the jacket. No problem with this one.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Lou and Cindy.........I put one of those in my Packard cart for my next order.

ooc
 
Update......I bought the XL and this apron is really huge! I could have gotten the L, but this is usable as is......very little adjustment left.

Looks like it will last a long time.

ooc
 
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