Need a good stud finder

[Rich Engelhardt]

Need a good stud finder

My ex was a bit too good at it......

Oh, I'm sorry, was that out loud?


+1 for those low cost magnetic ones like Glenn posted. They work great!

[Ben Rivel]

You may not believe me but buy one anyway:
http://www.amazon.com/CH-Hanson-0304...N%3DB000IKK0OI

Had several other electronic ones over the years (pretty much all the top rated ones on Amazon) and seriously this is the only one I ever use or kept.

[Keith Outten]

The inexpensive stud finders are not worth the price IMO, you may as well attach a magnet to a piece of string if all you want to do is find a nail or screw head.

I own the Franklin sensor, it shows the edges of the studs, very handy when you have two or three studs joined together. If I am unsure about water pipes or electrical wires in a wall I use a Garrett Pin Pointer (Garret Carrot) to scan the wall, this is the same tool that metal detector (hunters) use to find metal objects in the ground. The last thing I want to have happen is to drive a screw into a water/electrical line in a customers building.

[Tom Ewell]

The last thing I want to have happen is to drive a screw into a water/electrical line in a customers building.

Also have the Franklin finder, augment it with one of these, basing out and old house with squirrely framing, found a 'stud' with the franklin, probed with the other, felt like wood, popped a nail right through a cpvc water line that was right up against the sheetrock... discovered quickly that the main water shutoff was located in the pump house.

[Lee Schierer]

Here's a video that compares several of the high end stud detectors.

[Jim Dwight]

A 2 inch 18 gauge pneumatic nail works fine. Small hole but stiff enough to go through dry wall. Electronic ones work, sometimes. Nail works all the time.

[Ben Rivel]

A nail is part of my normal proceedure. I start with a magnetic "stud finder" and locate the nails going up the stud and look for the center of 3-4 of them. Then I use a 4" nail and hammer it into the wall to make sure I hit a stud. Then I mark it and Im good to go. Simple, cheap and works every time.

[Roger Feeley]

+1 on the Franklin. I find using the zircon to be a bit of a black art. I've also had trouble with something in the tool bag turning on the zircons. The Franklin button is posititioned so that accidental activation is unlikely.

[guy knight]

love the franklin from costco best one i have ever used

[Marty Tippin]

The Hanson magnetic stud finder arrived today. Initial assessment is that it will work fine for most of my needs. (And it also points out how poorly the Sheetrock in my house is installed - there either aren't nearly enough nails...)

I was surprised at how small the thing is - see the pic below.

[Brian W Evans]

+1 for the Franklin. I really like how it shows you the boundaries of the stud and whether or not there are two or more sistered together.

[Bill Conerly]

I used a mid-priced Zircon a few days after painting, one that would find the edge of my studs. It thought that some of my studs were 3/4 inch wide, and others were 3 or 4 inches wide. Finally read the manual and learned that it's not reliable for a couple of weeks after painting. Getting better results now, but two days after painting was when I really needed it.