Stud finders?

[T i m]

Can anyone recommend a good (as in reliable / predictable) / VFM stud finder please, generally just for looking for wood (or metal I guess) studs behind plasterboard, although if it did more and that didn't distract from my primary need / it's ability ... or make it much more expensive that could be ok.

I ask because there are loads out there and vary in price enormously.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. I have a couple that have worked ok but of course can't find right now and daughter was happy to get one for herself and sooner rather than later etc.

[Richard]

<snip>

Thanks ;)

[John Rumm]

Have a look at the Zircon ones, they usually work well. Having said that a strong magnet salvaged from an old hard drive will usually find the nails fixing the board to the stud quite well.

[T i m]

... with some advice from us of course. ;-)

I don't think I've found (a VFM) one (online) yet that has more than 3 out of 5 star reviews but then that could be a combination of expectation, non skilled users and it doing the impossible, especially with cheap gear?

That said, my old stud finder (blue, might have been branded Rawlplug) seemed to work ok, as-long-as you hit the on button (that you had to hold in use), on a bit of plasterboard that was well away from a stud.

So like many 'tools', it often takes a bit of skill to use them properly. However, some can make it easier than others (like playing a bad musical instrument).

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<SNIP>

Noted, thanks.

Ooo, I like that and have a mounted Neodymium magnet that I can find (because it's stuck underneath a shelf though some bubble pack and a Jiffy bag). ;-)

I just hope it doesn't pull the nails out tough the plasterboard. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[newshound]

+1 for magnets. Cheap enough on eBay if you don't have a hard drive to hand.

[T i m]

<snip>

I took my strong magnet and picked up a cheap finder from Wickes on the way, along with some Fisher bolts and some small angle brackets (with slots on one side to allow vertical movement of the floor standing shelves as they get loaded up).

As it turns out, the she wanted this shelving against was an external wall and whilst the magnet did pick up *some* ferrous stuff (points), I couldn't find anything stud-like so assume the plasterboard was held on with dot-n-dab?

There was one very strong continious vertical ferrous indicator but only one and not near anything obvious (pipes / wires etc).

So we just drilled straight though the plasterboard and into the blockwork in 4 places and all 4 nipped up pretty well. ;-)

I tried the magnet and stud-finder on one internal wall and did find more sign of fasteners in vertical lines with the magnet and the wooden studs with the finder.

Also found a stud with the finder in the bathroom (for a picture).

The finder seems to work like mine where if you find a stud with a very broad indication, if you release and re-press the button at the edge of the initial indication, it then offers a finer one (maybe as narrow as 10mm).

Cheers, T i m