quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Electronic stud finders are a waste of time and money.

Why?

They are expensive, require batteries, and are unreliable. A magnet is significantly cheaper and has a much much greater chance of locating studs.

Seriously, electronic stud finders are dumb.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Electronic stud finders are a waste of time and money.

Why?

They are expensive, require batteries, and are unreliable. A magnet is significantly cheaper and has a much much greater chance of locating studs.

Seriously, electronic stud finders are dumb.

My first go to is always my right index finger knuckle. I have about a 85%+ accuracy rating with it.

Personally, I gave up on trying the magnet thing. Way too many drywall guys miss studs and leave those screws in the wall to be found by my magnet. That, and it always seems I'm working on a home where the framers were either drunk or hung over when they framed the interior walls, and none of them could find 16" on the tape measure.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
That, and it always seems I'm working on a home where the framers were either drunk or hung over when they framed the interior walls, and none of them could find 16" on the tape measure.

I'm with you on that.

Plus, the electronic gadget helps me find the horizontal pieces of framing that don't have nails or screws driven into them.

 
No matter which type I use (electronic or magnetic), I always confirm the stud edges with a series of holes using a 4 penny nail, then fill those small holes with that spackle repair stuff. This gives me a good center for the stud.
 
I don't blunt the tip of the nail, Arc. What's the purpose of that?

Blunting the tip of the nail makes it harder to drive into things that aren't wallboard. Like pipes and wires that should have strike plates but don't.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Blunting the tip of the nail makes it harder to drive into things that aren't wallboard. Like pipes and wires that should have strike plates but don't.

Aha, makes sense. The only other time I learned about blunting a nail was to keep from splitting wood when nailing near the end or edge.

Gee, by using a dumb electronic stud finder and not poking nails into the walls, I have zero chance at poking holes in pipes and wires while searching for the studs. Neat!

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Gee, by using a dumb electronic stud finder and not poking nails into the walls, I have zero chance at poking holes in pipes and wires while searching for the studs. Neat!

Incorrect, and a dangerously false sense of security. Your electronic gadget will not spare you from this possibility.

At some point, a situation will occur where something is weird or too thick, and you're driving a nail.

As I said, the reliable method is a magnet. Electronic stud finders are for homeowners and weekend warriors. Not for serious use.

They are a waste of money. Especially if you rarely use them.

The only thing electronic stud finders are good for, is soaking people for cash.

If these things were useful and reliable, they'd be part of my toolkit. They simply aren't.

Okay, fine.

I'm a homeowner, not a full-on super-professional. And I don't believe I'm fully incorrect.

I’d like to thank the person who didn’t build on 16 inch centers, screw you very much. I had to go 22 inches to the door frame and angle screws in. Not a lot of room here.

My house is fine otherwise. This issue is a 4.5 x 6 foot pantry so it’s not structural walls, so they took a shortcut. Must have been beer thirty. I was not able to get the desired strength of fastening into studs on one vertical rail, so I went with wall anchors, the rest I got screws into studs, so I think it’ll hold ok.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before..... A thirsty carpenter walks into a lesbian bar by mistake. He said he knew it when he realized the pool table didn’t have any balls and there were no studs, it was all tongue & groove construction.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Gee, by using a dumb electronic stud finder and not poking nails into the walls, I have zero chance at poking holes in pipes and wires while searching for the studs. Neat!

Incorrect, and a dangerously false sense of security. Your electronic gadget will not spare you from this possibility.

At some point, a situation will occur where something is weird or too thick, and you're driving a nail.

As I said, the reliable method is a magnet. Electronic stud finders are for homeowners and weekend warriors. Not for serious use.

They are a waste of money. Especially if you rarely use them.

The only thing electronic stud finders are good for, is soaking people for cash.

If these things were useful and reliable, they'd be part of my toolkit. They simply aren't.

I use both an electronic stud finder and my knuckle. The electronic stud finder simply helps me confirm where the edges of the studs are. Stud finders work with a reasonable amount of accuracy.