Dr. Amanda Foster

If you only buy one camping power station, get the Jackery Explorer 300 at 292Wh and 7.1 pounds. It is the rare combination of full-size capacity, a battery chemistry rated past 4,000 cycles, and a carry weight that will not end your trip at the trailhead. That is the short version of our answer to … Read more

The best powder coating gun for most people is the Eastwood HotCoat PCS-250, a dual-voltage 15kV/25kV system that has earned 332 reviews at 4.5 stars. If you want the widest voltage control, the VEVOR 50kV kit gives you five steps from 30kV to 50kV. If you want everything in one box with two powder cups, … Read more

The best parts washers are the machines that get grease, oil and carbon off a rebuildable component before you inspect it, measure it or put it back together. A recirculating pump drives fluid through a basin, a flow-through brush or spray head breaks the contamination loose, and a filter traps the sludge so clean fluid … Read more

Rust does not come off with a wire wheel, and neither does sixty-year-old paint. The only thing that strips a part back to clean metal quickly is abrasive media moving at speed, and the only way to do that without coating your shop in dust is to do it inside a sealed blast cabinet. That … Read more

A blacksmith anvil is a heavy block with a hardened, ground face that you strike hot metal against, and it is the one tool a shop is judged on. It is not a stake anvil (a post for holding hot stock), not a bench block (a small surface for light striking and riveting), and not … Read more

A propane forge is a refractory lined steel chamber that burns propane through one or more burners to bring metal to forging temperature, usually between 2,200 and 2,550 degrees F. The best propane forges give you clean, fast, controllable heat with no coal ash, which is why they have replaced the coal forge in most … Read more

An upright vacuum puts the motor, the suction head and the brushroll into one body you push across the floor, which makes it stronger on carpet than a stick vacuum and cheaper to run than a canister. The best upright vacuums for fall into a few clear groups: strong pet-hair pickup, sealed HEPA filtration for … Read more

Canister vacuums are better than uprights when you have stairs, a mix of hardwood and carpet, or pets that shed constantly. The long hose and wand reach places a push-style machine cannot, and bagged models trap dust and dander inside a sealed bag instead of releasing it back into the room. On a single-level home … Read more

A commercial-grade vacuum is a machine built for daily, multi-hour professional use rather than the intermittent ten-minute clean of a household unit. It has a heavier-duty motor, a dirt container sized for a full shift, stronger brush agitation, and a warranty written for business duty. That difference is what keeps it running when a consumer … Read more

Backpack vacuums are genuinely good, and they are good at one specific thing: cleaning a whole building, floor by floor, without dragging a machine behind you. A bagged motor-and-filter unit rides in a padded harness on your back, a hose runs down your arm, and both hands stay free for the wand. The catch is … Read more