Yeah, right. Stop pointing at yourself…LOL
I spent the weekend trying to identify the location of the studs, along with everything else, in the walls.
I know the tried and true method of tapping witha hammer or back of a screw driver. For the most part I trust that better than a stud finder.
Of which I have two. A standard LED model, and a fancy one, that will detect electrical, metal, and scan through stucco.
I find myself using all three (methods) sometimes.
So what method or device do you use and why.
BTW. I’m the one who drove the screw into the refrigeration line…:o(
Enjoy
Hi, I’m Len and I’m a Toolaholic…
Replies
same methods as yours but my detector is the Bosch...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Both of mine are Zircon. The fancy one doesn't seem to work as well as the LED one, except for metal.
Hi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
ever look for the nails in the basenoard, as a starting point?_____________________________
bobl Volo, non valeo
Yes, nails in the baseboard if you find at least three at 16" oc are a good hint. If the baseboard is relatively easy to remove cleanly, you can also pull it and do your test holes where they'll be covered when you put it back.
My very favorite stud finder from the late '60's was called a "Morrison Probe". It consisted of a short piece of 1/8" OD tubing bent into a 90 degree sweep, with a plastic base at 90 degrees to the tube at one end. You'd drill one hole, and insert the end of the tube, holding the base so the part inside the wall was parallel to the floor. Then there was 16" of stiff piano wire that you'd push in thru the tube until it touched the side of a stud. Pull the gadget out without moving the wire, and hold the tube over the hole so that the end of the wire points exactly to the edge of the stud. I haven't seen that thing in years, I wish I could find another one.
-- J.S.
That's a good idea--the upper nails are usually put into studs.
Yeah, I use a cordless but with a tiny bit. Like 1/16". And I try to hit just OUTSIDE of it. Then drill through the same hole at a 45 angle to gauge exactly where the side of it is. Then mark both sides on the wall and transfer it down the wall on 16s.
Also, if you look over the whole wall, you can often see a nail pop or divet and then go on 16s form there.
An electrical outlet / thermostat / phone jack is always on the left or right of a stud. Tap both sides listening for the more solid sound.David Thomas Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska
The base board isn't usually such good indicator...
the outlets are a good bet along with the divots...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I'm with you and IMERC--I use all three--and sometimes just little nails until I hit something solid. Guy I work for does same thing--one time screwed six or eight drywall screws before we hit the joist! (Popcorned ceiling-- where the second layer of DW was only glued to the first and was coming down. What a PITA!)
"...and sometimes just little nails until I hit something solid."
I've never done that, but I've been knowing to put a small bit in the drill and start drilling tiny holes until I hit something. But then you've got to repair the holes.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.
Yeah, either small nails or a drill, and yeah, leaves you lots of holes to fill, but they're little holes!
x-ray vision
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
We have plaster walls, and the electronic stud finder doesn't work very wall. I drill tiny holes just above the baseboard, then plumb up with a level.
If you use the various 'braille' (nail, drill, screw) methods and miss, you can sometimes use a length of bent wire to figure out how far off you were.
Bend wire into 'U" shape with ends cut to same length, insert into hole, rotate until it hits. Now you know...
I know someone who uses a metal detector to find the nails or screws. The type you use for getting nails out of used lumber for remilling.
The sell those little magnet bubbles (where the magnet stands on end) for this too.
I think some of the newer stud finders can detect metal.
Looking for nails is probably the best way without drilling holes. The metal detector on my stud finder isn't very accurate. It goes off 2 or 3 inches away from from a pipe. I've learned that I have to pass it over and then pick the center.
It's funny after all the years that stud finders have been around most of us still trust our senses rather than a electronic sensor.
Hi, I'm Len and I'm a Toolaholic...
Rare earth magnet, hold a small rare earth magnet between your thumb and
finger, slide it along the wall, if it gets close to a nail it will
start to pull.
I read on t'other day in a book in a Cracker Barrel while waiting for a table. Guy had an old electric razor in tool box. Switched it on, ran it along wall, listening for change in sound. Sorta like tapping w/ a hammer, but more elegant.
Don