# I need a stud finder that actually works!!!!!



## CarrPainting (Jun 29, 2010)

I must go thruogh plaster and metal lath!


I'm sitting here.... 2am. By my wood stove.... Ahhh heat... Sipping a beer :whistling. And looking at all these over head racks.... Ans how much wasted space for cords, and hoses and stuff....

Always need more hooks! Space is at an absolute premium here...


I am no carpenter by any means... I had one stud finder... Found it new in the package on the shelf..... 4 holes later we found the stud!

I need one that works. Hands down, here it is, drill/hammer HERE! 

Not one that says, 'well it might be here, Well maybe not!'


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## HARRY304E (Jan 18, 2011)

CarrPainting said:


> I must go thruogh plaster and metal lath!
> 
> 
> I'm sitting here.... 2am. By my wood stove.... Ahhh heat... Sipping a beer :whistling. And looking at all these over head racks.... Ans how much wasted space for cords, and hoses and stuff....
> ...


I have this one it works well...:thumbup:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UJNmSYb4LSE


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## Big Shoe (Jun 16, 2008)

I also use a Zircon. Mine was around $50 Don't know the model # But it has a deep scan that I use to go through tile/marble to mount grab bars.


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## chewy (May 23, 2010)

Zircon for me, pings a wee light at the centre of the stud so I just mark it there and measure 22.5mm each side to get a picture or the stud as Im trying not to hit them in my line of work.


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## NINZAN STUDIO (Jan 10, 2012)

I have a 3/4" diameter x 1/8" thick rare earth magnet in my tool belt. It will find drywall nails or screws quicker than a battery powered stud finder. Just gently swipe it back and forth on the wall until it sticks. I buy them in 10 packs from Amazon.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Metal lath is a tough problem. Big Shoe's Zircon Deep Scan is the one I use, and it seems to work better than anything else I've tried.

If you're really desperate and it's totally critical and you have plenty of time you can set up halogen work lights on one side of the wall, wait for it to heat up some, and use a non-contact thermometer (the kind with a laser spot so you know where you're reading the temperature) and scan it across the wall. Studs conduct the heat better, so they'll be warmer. Slow and a PITA, but you can find them in situations where everything else fails.


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## redwood (Dec 5, 2007)

I thought the consensus, a little while back is that none of these inexpensive scanners were even close to foolproof. Yes, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

I've tried a lot of those Zircons over the years and eventually throw them away and hope that the next version actually works.


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## 91782 (Sep 6, 2012)

knuckle, knuckle, rap-rap.

6-8p finish nail, test hole. No find, move 3/4", repeat.

Suspect there's a second layer furred over the first - get out that really long #2 phillips screwdriver your helper always asks why you carry it - repeat as with the finish nail.

If customer complains, tell 'em they have a woodpecker infestation.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

None work reliably through plaster and lath, my favorite is the cheapest zircon:










How I actually find studs is with feeler wire. Take a 10" piece, cut the end on an angle, bend a hook on the other end and chuck it in your drill then poke holes.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

redwood said:


> I thought the consensus, a little while back is that none of these inexpensive scanners were even close to foolproof. Yes, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
> 
> I've tried a lot of those Zircons over the years and eventually throw them away and hope that the next version actually works.


I agree, there's no such thing as a reliable scanner. (even more expensive ones). Metal lath keeps all of them from working well or at all. Sometimes I can use the "knock knock" technique with good enough results, sometimes I will use a probe wire chucked (like above). Exterior walls I generally already have pictures from my thermal imager (fewer surprises, nice to get them before a quote goes out).

Sometimes finding studs from the outside works better than from the inside - tough to say, there is no easy, cheap, fast solution. Knock knock and chucked wire is awfully good, though,


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## Cole82 (Nov 22, 2008)

Get a real stud finder not a HO toy.










http://www.milwaukeetool.com/test-a...ner-m12-detection-tool-bare-tool-only/2291-20


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## redwood (Dec 5, 2007)

Cole82 said:


> Get a real stud finder not a HO toy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If Milwaukee has one, surely Makita must too.


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## Gary H (Dec 10, 2008)

redwood said:


> If Milwaukee has one, surely Makita must too.


I hope so. The red will clash with the blue in my tool box:laughing:


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## HARRY304E (Jan 18, 2011)

Big Shoe said:


> I also use a Zircon. Mine was around $50 Don't know the model # But it has a deep scan that I use to go through tile/marble to mount grab bars.


The one I posted picks up live wires as well..:thumbsup:


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## HARRY304E (Jan 18, 2011)

Cole82 said:


> Get a real stud finder not a HO toy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice I like it....:thumbup:


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## schaefercs (Jul 10, 2008)

We use insulation hangers. Cut them in half and on an angle. Once you find the stud, drill more holes to the left and right, about 1/4" away from each other. Keep doing that until you miss. Pick the center most hole and you've got the exact center of the stud.


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## Gary H (Dec 10, 2008)

I maybe the odd one here, but I like bad drywall jobs. Its so easy to find the studs:thumbsup:. The perfect walls suck. Without a magnet, you will spend hours trying to find a stud. And since I have bad hearing, knocking on the wall dosen't work for me.:no:


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## Brev (Sep 15, 2012)

I've been using a Franklin stud finder and have been pretty impressed with it after tossing a zircon in the bin..


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## SuperiorHIP (Aug 15, 2010)

Franklin here too, bought it a few months ago and I love it. I have had multiple zircon over the years and use them once and toss them. I will still knock sometimes but the franklin nails stud everytime. 

http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Sens...F8&qid=1351901063&sr=8-3&keywords=stud+finder


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Cole82 said:


> Get a real stud finder not a HO toy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Any ideas what the electronics behind that one are?


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