geartow
Well-known member
do any stud finders work with lathe and plaster walls ,girl friend wants a flat screen put up in here ooooooooold house.
Your stud finder recommendations?
- Thread starter Highpsi
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bert1913
Well-known member
another vote for the franklin 710...best stud finder i’ve ever used
Right. Same one I got in blue from Costco. They sold them with a tape measure at Sams under some brand name. Franklin is the manufacturer. Later models added a bubble level
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This is an old thread but since it was started the Walabot has come out. It works with your cell phone to give you a "picture" of what is in the wall. Anybody tried one? They sure advertise a lot.
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bochnak
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engineer2
Well-known member
Reviving an older thread. I have a Franklin 710 stud finder and hate it. Painfully slow and pretty much only works on 1/2" drywall with no mud or tape joints. Maybe I got a bad unit? Horrible battery compartment design.
Zircons were donated to Goodwill. No one even wanted them from the "free" table at our garage sale.
Any new models out there? Anybody like the Walabot? It gets very mixed reviews.
Zircons were donated to Goodwill. No one even wanted them from the "free" table at our garage sale.
Any new models out there? Anybody like the Walabot? It gets very mixed reviews.
FigureItOut
Well-known member
I'd definitely give another one a try. It's a solid stud detector. It reportedly won't work on lathe and plaster, but I've had good results with it through two layers of ½" drywall.
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Hytekrednek
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Franklin for me as well. My old, one of the first Zircon units, finally died. It worked great. I replaced it with another Zircon, it sucked. Tried another... it sucked worse. Researched them and found Franklin to have the best reputation, plus it is affordable. I really like the way it displays the entire stud, not just the edge.
Hytekrednek
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The old and simple Zircon I had for decades was awesome and reliable. I give them credit for that. Something changed with their company for sure as it seems all zircon models **** now. If I had to guess, I would say it is either maximizing profits that ruined them, or getting to ambitious with their designs, trying to make them do several things instead of just finding studs. My money is on both... cheaply making complicated designs leading to selling over hyped junk.
Yep, still love my Franklin. When I hang very heavy or expensive stuff, I may verify a studs location using a very skinny nail or ice pick.
Yep, still love my Franklin. When I hang very heavy or expensive stuff, I may verify a studs location using a very skinny nail or ice pick.
..Wyoming09
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Parrothead
Well-known member
Some great tips guys, thanks!
Apologies for being lazy and just posting up the question when I shoulda known this would have been covered elsewhere. I think I was just at my wits end in the garage the other day screwing around with my Zircon POS and typed up a quick topic on the forums!
This is like the Zircon one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000055X0X/?tag=atomicindus08-20
But looks like I'll be stepping up to the Franklin one now instead. Wow, for 50 bucks vs. 20 I can see that you certainly get what you pay for. I'll gladly drop another 30 bucks for less swearing and backaches from doing the same stud search 10 times over with that worthless Zircon one!
Save yourself some cash, they’ve got them at Menards for $35.
https://www.menards.com/main/p-1444430676953.htm
jgromada
Well-known member
I have a Zircon (one of their better models) and it works. Although much maligned i have never NOT found the stud.
gwunsch
Well-known member
engineer2
Well-known member
So I tried my Franklin 710 again today. Batteries were 1.5V each. I built the walls, so I know where the studs are. Random LEDs that didn't correspond to anything. Sometimes the LEDS were off where there was a stud and sometimes it indicated the stud was a half inch wide, maybe. Looks like it's going in the trash.
tonyciambrone
Well-known member
50lb pull neodymium magnet with a piece of painters tape over it. I will never use a stud 'finder' again
I second study buddy. I own a zircon but hardly used it. It always seems like when ever I need to use a stud finder mainly at work my zircon is in the car or at home and we have the stud buddy's all over the place at work and end up using them. They seem to work great only if the dry wall was put up correctly and used the correct amount of nails. Some building I have been in the remodel jobs were done half assed (work done before me and most of the time having to fix the work that's been done) and the drywall was. Not put up correctly and sometimes it's a pain to find the nails but over all I like the study buddy.
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volleyball
Well-known member
If you have one of the many recommended smartphones than a walabot is the way to go. It shows you inside the wall visually
A carpenter buddy was helping me trim my house and showed me this magnetic stud finder tool Rack-A-Tiers 52300 Studball. Similar to the CH Hanson. Freaking awesome. So simple and only $15 on amazon. My POS zircon, didn't get used again. The zircon does work, just not nearly as well.
JRas
Well-known member
I use a Zircon at work, middle model. Works pretty good, sometimes you use it on something that just isn't going to work well though. Works ~90% of the time with the short and deep sensing modes.
MikeF2316
Well-known member
My inner walls are 3/8" drywall covered with a layer of mortar, then a couple of layers of plaster. The Franklin works fine on them. The Zircons I've bought I wouldn't even pick up off a free table at a garage sale either.
JRas
Well-known member
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IVkNyhmRO1k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Anyone try Bosch' offerings?
Anyone try Bosch' offerings?
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
I have a cheap Zircon, but I do not trust it to find the exact center of a stud.
I was hanging a TV bracket for a 48" TV (bracket say it is good for up to 60"). Came with 4 good sized lags. Big enough, that is you did not hit the center of the stud, you were in trouble ! I got close with the Zircon, but i confirmed by drilling multiple tiny holes (which were going to be cover by the bracket anyway) and testing until I found the true edges.
I was hanging a TV bracket for a 48" TV (bracket say it is good for up to 60"). Came with 4 good sized lags. Big enough, that is you did not hit the center of the stud, you were in trouble ! I got close with the Zircon, but i confirmed by drilling multiple tiny holes (which were going to be cover by the bracket anyway) and testing until I found the true edges.
engineer2
Well-known member
Ended up buying the CH Hanson magnet type. Love it so far! I can even store it on a wall.
Smiling because the only stud finder I owned was a Zircon and glad all else reiterate what a POS it is. To make it worse - this one was an 'edge finder' not even stud finder.
Looking to buy one for use in wood - are all recommendations here still relevant?
Looking to buy one for use in wood - are all recommendations here still relevant?
Indexmill
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Zircons ****. Franklins rock.
SunsetsAndFriends
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Indexmill
Well-known member
One guy in our neighborhood got sick and tired of the ****** Zircon not working and bitched to me about it. I mentioned the Franklin. The next day he had the Franklin from Costco and invited all of us to a campfire to see it. The only rule was that we all had to bring our Zircons... you can imagine the rest of the story.