Samantha Reed

A welding generator, also called an engine-driven welder, is a single self-contained machine that combines a small combustion engine (gasoline, diesel, or LPG) with both a welding power source and an auxiliary AC generator. That combo lets you stick, MIG, TIG, or flux-cored weld anywhere there’s no wall outlet, and run grinders, lights, and battery … Read more

I learned the hard way that the wrong penetrating oil turns a 20-minute job into an all-afternoon battle. Last summer I spent three hours fighting a single seized brake caliper bolt that would have come out in ten minutes with the right product on hand. After that, our team spent four weeks putting the best … Read more

If a bolt can vibrate loose, it will. After two decades of turning wrenches on everything from dirt bikes to diesel engines, I have watched perfectly good fasteners walk themselves out of engine cases, scope mounts, and brake assemblies for one simple reason: nobody put threadlocker on them. Anaerobic thread lockers are the single cheapest … Read more

Last weekend I pulled the valve cover off a 2012 Tacoma to chase an oil seep, and within ten minutes the forum chorus in my head started arguing about color. Grey, black, copper, anaerobic, OEM, generic. After two days of testing and reading through more than a dozen threads on BITOG, ih8mud, and r/EngineBuilding, the … Read more

Finding the best RTV silicone sealants can mean the difference between a leak-free repair and oil dripping onto your driveway. After spending three weekends in our shop bench-testing eight top-selling formulas on oil pans, valve covers, timing covers, and exhaust manifolds, our team has a clear picture of which products actually hold up under heat, … Read more

When you ask a room of mechanics which copper gasket sealant they trust, you get five different answers. Some swear by Permatex copper spray. Others refuse to use anything except a brush-on copper coat. A few mechanics insist you should never use any sealant at all on an annealed copper head gasket. I spent the … Read more

If you have ever asked which 2-pack epoxy glue is the best, the short answer our team keeps coming back to is J-B Weld 8265S Original Cold-Weld Steel Reinforced Epoxy. It bonds metal, wood, plastic, concrete, ceramic, and fiberglass with a 5,020 PSI tensile strength and stands up to 550°F, which is why it shows … Read more

I learned what a steel reinforced epoxy can really do the hard way — when a cracked cast-iron pump housing started leaking on a Saturday afternoon and the nearest machine shop was two hours away. A friend handed me a stick of putty, told me to knead, push, and wait, and 24 hours later the … Read more

JB Weld has earned its reputation as the household name in metal repair adhesives, but it’s far from the only option worth reaching for. After 30+ hours testing two-part epoxies, epoxy putties, MMA adhesives, and specialty repair sticks, our team put together this roundup of the best JB Weld alternatives for . Whether you need … Read more

Picking the best body fillers used to mean grabbing whatever red can was on the shelf at the auto parts store. After our team spent six weeks applying, sanding, and painting over ten popular fillers on everything from a rusted truck fender to a cracked fiberglass boat hull, we can tell you it absolutely does … Read more