Stud Finder recommendation

[GreenGA]

Today we had to mount some brackets on a wall in a garage.  Pulled out the B&D stud finder and marked off what we thought were the stud locations.  I say "thought" because that POS missed every stud  [mad] but one and that one could seen with our own eyes.

So, before we go and spend more money at the Borg, does anyone have recommendations for a good to great stud finder?  Perhaps something that will last more than a couple of years.  And light duty years at that.  [crying]

Thanks.

 

[tiralie]

My favourite is knocking with my knukle on the wall but sometimes that doesn't work as the wall board is too thick. My favorite so far is Zircon-MultiScanner-i700a
It is not great in tight areas so I use an older Zircon which is not as accurate.
Tim

 

[RonMiller]

I like magnets for the cost/benefit ratio.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Do not buy a cheap Zircon, they don't work well at all.  The old knock, knock is what I use now.

 

[pugilato]

low tech is best tech... I've had pretty good luck with the stud finder that is a magnet that moves when you go over a metallic screw or nail that goes into the stud. especially good with metal studs, but it will respond to screws or nails in wooden studs. i have spent so much money on these magic stud finders and none of them really work.

 

[yankee]

My knuckles have never failed me. And The batteries never run out.

 

[waho6o9]

+1 on Mr. Tim Raleigh's recommendation, good combo.  Yeppers

 

[Uffe Kaagaard]

http://umarex-laserliner.de/content/flash/MultiFinderPro_en.html
http://www.umarex-laserliner.de/content/files/Info//GB_English/MultiFinder_Pro_GB.pdf

 

[pdlandgang]

Everyone I have tried goes off as soon as I pick it up.  Don't know what I am doing wrong.   ;D

 

[PaulMarcel]

Everyone I have tried goes off as soon as I pick it up.  Don't know what I am doing wrong.   ;D

www.InstantRimshot.com  [cool]

 

[Handymanpro]

Today we had to mount some brackets on a wall in a garage.  Pulled out the B&D stud finder and marked off what we thought were the stud locations.  I say "thought" because that POS missed every stud  [mad] but one and that one could seen with our own eyes.

So, before we go and spend more money at the Borg, does anyone have recommendations for a good to great stud finder?  Perhaps something that will last more than a couple of years.  And light duty years at that.  [crying]

Thanks.
I would recommend highly the MAGIC  Stud Finder  product, No batteries , No electronics , No guess work , it works like magic.
www.MagicStudFinder.com
Good Luck

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I would recommend highly the MAGIC  Stud Finder  product, No batteries , No electronics , No guess work , it works like magic.
www.MagicStudFinder.com
Good Luck

Not to bust your balls, nice idea, especially for diy'ers, but Gary would get laughed off a jobsite using that (I'd make sure I was doing most of the laughing and pointing).  I just don't see that being a contractor tool.  Sorry.

I agree with others how difficult electronic studfinders have been over the years.  I was frustrated by many Zircon models, even their most sophisticated.  As a demonstration of what crap they are, I did a demo years ago on a wall with half the drywall installed so the studs were visible above.  Take a guess how bad that turned out for Zircon.  I do like the new Bosch models.  I have the DMD4K.  It's not perfect, but it's more reliable than anything Zircon ever produced.  Most of the time I use my knuckles and/or the magnetic stud finder from C.H. Hanson.  It's small, lightweight, inexpensive and the most reliable out of any product I've ever tried.

----all just my opinion.  As always, to each his own.

magnetic stud finder

 

[Sparktrician]

I've never found one that worked reliably and accurately, including the Zircons.  One of the trade rags recently rated the Bosch DMD4K as being one of the better, but I've not been able to get hands-on to test one.  YMMV... 

[smile]

 

[hogbiscuit]

http://www.amazon.com/CH-Hanson-03040-Magnetic-Finder/dp/B000IKK0OI/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1315316451&sr=1-1

This is the one I use and it works great.  The magnets are very strong.  I've never trusted the electronic types. 

I use a combination of the magnetic stud finder, banging with my fist and measuring.  Whatever it takes.

Marcus

 

[Kristian]

I have one of the older Bosch DMF10 models and it works okay but mainly for metal studs. For wood it's just random. The detections improved a little bit though when someone told me to put my free hand on the wall as well - stud finder in right hand, left hand on wall. Something about static electricity...

But it's packed away now. These days I rely on magnets and knocking - works every time.

- Kristian

 

[Laminator]

I use a 3/4" diameter x 3/4" long neodymium (super) magnet.    The only thing that stumps it is the stud where the drywall was not nailed or screwed.  Just look for "super magnet" on ebay.

 

[Alan m]

i have a mag jig magnet and its bluddy strong . it locks onto the heads good enough

 

[GreenGA]

Thanks to all for their suggestions.

I resorted to the knuckles on the wall method and while I may not be the best at that trick, it did work, kinda.

One of my guys brought in his i7?? Zircon and validated my findings,  [embarassed], and also found an electrical line none of us knew about.

What made this particular wall a bit more difficult than usual is it's 5/8" fire rated and the wall cavities are stuffed with insulation.

As to Ken's remark about being laughed off a site using a MAGIC stud finder.  Heck, I do not need to wait for Ken to laugh me off [unsure], Joe laughed at me over the phone when I called and asked him if he had a spare.   [crying]