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Dropped $250 on a stud finder that can't find studs

Bought one of those fancy multi-sensor stud finders from Lowe's and it's been wrong about half the time, hitting wires instead of wood. Took down a chunk of drywall in my garage before I realized the calibration was off. Anyone else had luck with the old magnet trick instead?
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3 Comments
shane_wilson
...and this is exactly why I still keep a refrigerator magnet in my toolbox for the real work. For $250 you could have bought a case of beer, a pizza, and probably paid a guy on Craigslist to find your studs by ear. Those fancy sensors just love crying wolf on every wire and pipe they come across. Honestly nothing beats the satisfying thunk of a magnet snapping onto a drywall screw. Hope you kept the receipt.
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anna717
anna7173h ago
My buddy Dave tried one of those $250 stud finders on his living room wall last month and it kept beeping at a spot right where he wanted to hang a shelf. Turned out the sensor was picking up some old metal duct tape from a previous HVAC repair that was completely flat against the drywall. He ended up using a rare earth magnet he had from an old speaker and found the studs in about 45 seconds flat. Now the fancy sensor sits in his garage collecting dust next to the half-empty can of paint he swore he'd use up.
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the_drew
the_drew6m ago
Oh no, a rare earth magnet from an old speaker? That's not really a thing, man. Speaker magnets are usually ferrite, not rare earth. If he cracked open an old hard drive, that's where you find the neodymium ones. Just don't want your buddy spreading magnet misinformation while he's finding studs.
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