Stud Finder

[frank shic]

i use the tot lock magnets

[Jerome Hanby]

I now use rare earth magnets to find the nails/screws, and shoot a laser line to average out the found nails. I used this method to reinforce my ceilings (originally nailed-up drywall, now screws on six-inch centers) before adding blown-in cellulose insulation. A lot of the nails had popped over time, and in some places, the drywall was hanging down about a half-inch. The more screws/nails you can locate in a stud, the more accurate your layout will be. If in doubt, I drilled a small hole to see if I hit wood or not.

That's not a half bad idea. Might be a use for that silly, self vacuuming attachment, Ryobi laser leveling thingy.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I'm probably in the minority that bought one of those new fancy stud finders.

I spent $50 for a Zircon model i520. There was only one more model higher end than mine at the time which was an i700 and it automatically marked the wall with a pencil line for you. I'm fine with the I520 though.

Mine is about a year old, I just used it to do wanescotting for an entire room and use it to mount several large flat panel tvs and none of them have fallen (so far)

The AC sensing on mine works well. It also has a metal scan and a deep stud finding setting that can find a shelf mounted on the other side of the wall.

While I can't say the i520 is perfect, it's better than the other two pieces of junk I've had in the past that were around $10 or less electronic stud finders. Black and decker / Low end Zircon.

The way it works is I turn on the i520 between studs then slide it towards a stud and it lights up when it's centered over the stud, then you mark the centers of the studs.

TO get this to work perfect I will mark a stud like 4 times to form a vertical line and then align the studs with either a plumb laser or level. I begin the stud finder on the left of the stud and slide it right until it beeps, and then I switch to the other side and slide to the center until it beeps. If your dots line up, your good to go. You can then measure the distances between your dots to be 16" OC as furthar reassurance.

I've found it also worked with fireblock studs, and the metal scan and AC scan works very well. The AC scan seems way more sensitive than my Fluke VoltAlert.

So technically it's a multi-function tool... which justifies the price. sort of...

[John Coloccia]

I still have the original stud sensor Zircon made. It's falling apart. It rattles. It works perfectly every time. I don't have a hard time believing that things have gotten so cheap and junky that they perform worse today than 20 years ago but I am surprised.

For those that don't have good look with them, are you using an edge finder or center finder model? I'm surprised how many people try and use even the older Zircons as a center finder...which will not work at all.

[Doug Colombo]

I just bought the Bosch GMS120 digital multi-scanner a few months ago and so far I have been happy with it. I have used it for studs with good results, but have not used the metal or wiring functions yet. Reviews on Amazon are mixed (3.6 out of 5) but in my case (limited as it has been), so far so good.

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-GMS120-D...1926984&sr=8-1

[Josiah Bartlett]

I use my metal detector to find the nails as well. My walls are drywall over plaster over 3/4" shiplap, so I rarely even need to hit a stud, but when I do it's impossible to do without an xray machine or a metal detector.

[Craig Michael]

Rare earth magnets. I get mine out of old computer hard drives too. Also, just find the studs on the side of an electrical box, electrician almost always keep them on the same side throughout the house. Then just measure 16 oc over and your there.

[John Nesmith]

I have this one:



It works well for me. It gets a little squirelly if the batteries are low, but otherwise works fine. I have used magnets before, but like has been mentioned, the accuracy of that method depends heavily on the mood the dry-waller was in.

With mine, I take a right and left reading in two or three spots along the stud to get a center line.

[Harry Niemann]

My Daughter is looking for a stud.

[Mike Henderson]

My Daughter is looking for a stud.

She should buy one of the devices recommended above.

Mike

[Bill White]

My Zircon Studsensor Pro LCD has served me well.
Bill

[Tom Ewell]

I've use several Zircons, some good, some not so much.
I also like a Japanese finder that is simple to use and works well when using the "knuckle-tap" technique to find exact centers.
I have two, the old one uses just a needle as a probe, the new one has a magnetic tip to go along with the probe.
The holes made by the probe are small enough to be rendered all but invisible and disappear completely when painted over.
It's not the best solution for plaster or heavily mudded areas but for drywall over wood or metal stud, it's great.
Spare needles store in the handle and they can also be easily re-pointed if needed.

Japanese stud finder.jpg