CH Hanson 03040 Magnetic Stud Finder
by CH Hanson
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List Price: Our Price: $5.42 You Save: $10.57 (66%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of CH Hanson 03040 Magnetic Stud Finder
Customer Review: Forget the Electronic Studfinder - Avoid nailing into pipes!
Summary: 5 Stars
A few years ago, I was installing some new pantry shelving. I went and bought one of the best electronic studfinders in the market and proceeded to make my installation. A month or two later, I noticed that there was discoloration on my pantry wall....I had drilled my pantry shelfing into a sink pipe from upstairs!!!! I had to remove drywall, fix the pipe, and redo the shelving -- horrible experience.
My father-in law was laughing and mentioned that electronic studfinders are unreliable and can't distinguish a stud from a pipe. He mentioned how his father used a small magnet attached to a string and would use it to find nails in the steel nails in the wall.
This little gadget works in much the same way, only the magnets in this devices are really strong and will stick to the wall when it finds a nail and it has a level so you know what is up and down.
If you own a home that has drywall, this little tool is is 100, no 1,000, times better than electronic studfinders.
The concept is simple, when drywall is applied, steel nails are used to nail it to the 2x4 studs underneath. These steel nails can be found with a strong magnet.
Just run this little gadget in a figure 8, box, or whatever little pattern gently over your wall and when it finds a steel nail, it'll magnetize itself to the wall: you can feel when you're close to the nail. Save $30 buy this instead - it's much more reliable. Just make sure that when you find a nail, move the tool vertical line up and down in a against your wall so you find the "line" of nails (they should be spaced one every foot or two) - that way, you're sure you have a stud and not some random nail in the wall -- there should be multiple nails along the nail line: that's where your stud will be. Not only that but construction guys will nail on the center of the stud. I can't tell you how many times I've just caught the edge of the stud with an electronic studfinder - frustrating.
Oh on size - it's small, maybe the size of a lighter but heavier because of the magnets.
Anyway - good luck on your projects.
Customer Review: Used It To Calibrate My Electronic Stud Finder
Summary: 4 Stars
One of my least favorite household duties as a husband is hanging picture frames and mirrors on walls. I owned a rather large Ryobi electronic stud finder previously and had set an appointment with my father to assist me in hanging a large mirror in our living room. I got the leveler, hammer, nails and extra muscle all ready to go on install day, only to be let down by the Ryobi stud finder. Grrr!! When I started hammering the nails in, it just went straight through the drywall. No stud. After putting about 4 nails in without successfully finding a stud, we gave up due to lack of proper equipment. I set off to find a more reliable stud finder with an increased budget, only to find this little doodad for less than the cost of a super-sized fast food meal.
The first thing I noticed when I received the Hanson stud finder was how teeny tiny it was. I thought it would be much bigger. It's probably no more than 2-3 inches in height and perhaps an inch wide. It contains a very strong magnet at the top and bottom, with a bubble level in between. You just slide the Stud4Sure in an "S" pattern across your wall and eventually it will find a nail/screw and stick to the wall. I am astounded at just how simple and accurate this low-tech stud finder is.
For kicks, I pulled out the Ryobi stud finder and tested it in locations where the Stud4Sure found studs. To my surprise, the Ryobi found them too and one that the Stud4Sure did not! This probably means that the stud found by the Ryobi did not contain any nails, which is likely very rare. I plan to use them both concurrently to achieve the best results. When the Hanson Stud4Sure finds a stud, it truly is there. That way, I can use the Ryobi to make sure it is also reading them accurately and search for other studs that the Hanson cannot physically find. I recommend the Hanson Stud4Sure, but it might work best when used along with an electronic stud finder.
Customer Review: From HandyMan with Years of Experience. This is the ONE.
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with all the high praise for this low tech simple and highly effective approach to the age old stud finding task.
I don't know what took me so long it find this. Oh, I know. I didn't know 'this' kind of powerful finding magnet existed. I was use to being frustrated by the always questionable(is it a stud or isn't it) and unreliable high tech electronic ones, and at the other end, the low tech low power 'floating magnet pointer' kind.
Let me tell you the advantages from much OTJ experience. First, unlike the low power pointer kind, this one is much larger and there you can scan/cover an area much faster. Second, once you have located a stud nail its powerful magnet sticks to the nail providing an absolute positive ID, unlike an electronic one, and because it stays on the wall, it provides its own 'marker' until you are ready to attach your thingy. No marking on your wall.
Now, keep in mind once you have located a nail, if it is not where you want to attach something in the horizontal direction, measure in multiples of 16" increments in either direction to find other studs along your wall. Then move the magnet, to that location to scan again to verify the closest stud to your desired location. Also, once you have located your horizontal location, be sure your vertical location point selected to drive a larger nail or screw is really a full length stud locating a nail above and below your vertical point using this magnet.
Bottom line: Its simple, can't break, compact in your tool drawer, no marks(sticks to nail for reference point and is vinyl coated to protect wall while sliding/scanning), and can sub as a frig magnet. :)
Customer Review: KISS--Keeping it simple Studfinder!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, so a few weeks ago I was searching amazon, reading all the reviews and trying to find a stud finder that actually works. All because the stupid stud finder I had was junk and I needed something that actually finds studs as oppsoed to giving me random light flashes that I have to decode and generally don't find actual studs. So I'm searching and reading reviews and thinking this thing costs $10 bucks it can't work right? Since the $100 stud finder I have doesn't work surely the $10 version is worthless...well, here's one instance where the saying "you get what you pay for" (which is almost ALWAYS true in tools) is misleading, simple is better!!
This is the smartest idea ever, and it works so much better than any other stud finder ever developed and did I mention it's $10 bucks! The super powerful magnets find the nails in the studs so you know exactly where they are, where the center is and then comes the magic...this little guy sticks to the wall where the stud is so no more marking with one hand while running a stud finder over the same 6" of wall 100 times to try and find the stud edges. This guy literally pulls out of your hand and sticks to the wall (without marking or messing it up) so you know exactly where the stud is. IT'S AMESOME and it's the BEST $10 bucks you will ever spend on your tool box! One note, this thing is only about 4 inches big (which is handy because it fits in a pocket) don't expect a huge brick sized tool here, this guy is small, simple, and immediately has become one of the MVPs of my toolbox. Buy it, it's an essential tool and you will be amazed how well this works for $10 bucks! LOVE IT!
Customer Review: Find studs in seconds
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the Craftsman Stud Finder with SpotLite Pointing System (Model# 60573). After a year of frustration I gave up and went on Amazon and found this gem.
With the craftsman stud finder, it took me several minutes beeping all over the place confusing the heck out of me. It would take me about 5 minutes just to "find" 2 studs. And most of the time it would show green for a 3 inch span. so i knew it was giving a false reading. I only truly found a stud once out of the ten times i used it. and the other times i just guessed.
Never really made use out of the electrical detection because I lost confidence in it. so i went on amazon to see what others were saying about the different stud finders and I thought i would try the this magnetic hanson stud finder.
It took about 5 minutes to find, mark, measure, about 20 studs on 3 different walls. i compared it to what i found with my craftsman on the same walls. the craftsman 3 inch span encompassed what I found with the hanson stud finder but I would have missed the stud because I had no idea where on the 3 inch span to drill.
I would highly recommend this for beginners. It gives you 100% certainty. Whereas I can't say the same for the craftsman studfinder. Not sure about the other brands of battery operated stud finders, but every time i used the one I had i would get a headache and the beeping wakes up my sleeping baby. it was completely useless.
if i hadn't found this hanson stud finder, i was going to drill through the wall at several locations until i hit the stud. thats how desperate i was.