What to know about a welding apron

Welding aprons are especially useful in working conditions where the front of the body must be protected. Not only welding, but also grinding, woodworking, but even grilling and cleaning. Since the arms are usually not protected, leather sleeves are a useful in addition for better protection against heat and sparks. An apron makes sure not to burn holes in your clothes.

Welding aprons: what to use for

Welding and metalworking

When welding or grinding there’s a lot of heat and hot material that can burn through clothes and burn skin. It’s obvious that in order to work safe, decent protection clothing is needed. Welding aprons usually protect torso and upper legs. It depends on the used material how much and how long it can protect. Keep in mind that with most aprons, arms and neck are usually not protected. For certain metalworking, it’s strongly advised to use additional clothing, like a fire resistant welding shirt or leather welding sleeves.

Other uses for welding aprons

Besides metalworking, aprons are very useful for all kinds of home improvement like painting, woodworking, gardening, grilling etc. Aprons will protect clothes from being dirty, especially stains that are impossible to wash off. Based on what your needs are, you can choose the right apron. We continue to discuss the different models in welding aprons.

Different models of welding aprons

Long welding apron

A long welding apron usually ranges from 40″ (about 101 cm) to 36″ (91,5 cm) in length. For an average adult, this goes from the upper torso until the knees. Longer is also possible, but less convenient to walk with. A shorter apron will usually cover torso and upper legs. A long welding apron is the most convenient for most metalworking and other activities that need full frontal protection.

Waist welding apron

A waist apron starts from the waist and protects the upper legs. It’s especially useful for works on a table or a platform. Most waist welding aprons come in different sizes, but are usually not longer than the knees for an adult.

Split leg welding apron

When you need to walk and kneel a lot, a long welding apron can be less convenient: the part under the knees can be in the way. Therefore split leg welding aprons are more useful. This is basically an apron that straps around each leg, in order to give more freedom to move. The length of split leg aprons can vary: usually they cover the upper legs, but longer ones go even until the feet.

Different uses of material for a welding apron

Leather welding apron

Leather, and more specifically cow skin leather, is the best material for welding aprons. It’s strong and very heat and flame resistant. This all comes with a price: it can also be more costly and heavier to wear all day long. Leather is also a natural product and therefore not suitable to wash or come in contact with water. Still this doesn’t stop most people from choosing leather for a welding apron. Pros:

• Heat and flame resistant
• Strong and durable

Cons:

• More expensive
• Can’t be washed with water

Waxed canvas apron

Waxed canvas is a strong and nice material that can serve as a good material for an apron. It’s waterproof, lighter and more flexible than leather. On the other hand, it doesn’t serve as fire resistant material, so for many discussed jobs it falls out of category. It still can be used for woodworking, gardening, grilling or other tasks that don’t involve high heat or sparks. Pros:

• Strong and light
• Waterproof

Cons:

• Not fire resistant

Fire resistant cotton welding apron

The cheapest welding aprons are usually made of fire resistant cotton. They still offer a decent protection against heat and flames, but they’re not as durable as leather. Fire resistant cotton is light and can be easily washed. For lighter metalworking, it’s definitely a good solution. Pros:

• Cheaper than other materials
• Fire resistant
• Can be washed

Cons:

• Less durable, less useful for metalworking

Good to know when buying a welding apron:

Most classic cheaper aprons hang around the neck and have to be tied on the back. This is fine for light aprons, but when wearing heavier longer, it can be less comfortable. Therefore most premium welding aprons have some kind of harness that straps at the back. The straps are easy to modify and the apron feels tightly strapped on the body. A lot of aprons also have a pocket on the front, which is convenient to put your phone, pencil, protection glasses.