Seriously?

This has been my experience as well. Mine has hit tile, concrete, hardwood, etc from 10 foot falls and it still works just fine.

I have owned about six of them over the years. The Franklin is the electronic one to buy. That being said, if you want to hang a large television and sleep at night, you use a stud sensor to approximate the position of the stud then use a tiny drillbit to precisely locate the center. I do this every single time.

I got out all of my stud sensors one day. I also own the Zircon one that has the LCD that supposedly shows you the center of the stud. I had a wall where the sheet rock had been cut away right up to the edge of a stud and then continued on untouched the rest of the way to the corner. So I could see where my stud was. I found that sliding any stud sensor up and down, the center spot varied as much as a half an inch due to the varying density of the stud as I slid it from top to bottom. For that reason I do not believe any stud sensor can be relied upon 100%.

So for ceilings, I use the Franklin almost exclusively. For walls, I pull out my eight dollar special and use my tiny LSD flexible drill bits to zero in.

[Link: amazon.com]

I assume nothing - you didn't mention it so I did.

This unit is the best finder I have ever used and has survived it's share of abuse.

Others have reported the same.

So what are you doing that is causing it to malfunction.

Frederick

The first Franklin I bought, one day took a fall on a stone floor and landed in pieces. First look I thought it was done for sure. Then I realized the pieces were the battery cover and the batteries, and I think the case may have popped apart. I put it all back together and nothing, it was dead. I figured the floor was too much. But the other guy with me had more patience and took another look. It was something like the battery contacts had been knocked out of place and weren't touching the batteries. He snapped them back in place and it was as good as ever. That was four years ago and it still works.

Still using knuckles...

I got one of these as a gift years ago, think it was from Costco. It works better then any of the other battery powered stud finders I have owned.

It doesn't get used very often. After going through probably every stud finder (err stud liar) on the market, I pretty much exclusively use a C.H Hanson magnetic studfinder. Small, inexpensive, no batteries, just works.

[Link: chhanson.com]

There's an awesome surplus place in Sun Valley, CA, in the northern part of LA county. I bought a half dozen rare earth magnets ( = super strong) and carry them with me. When I'm stumped as to where a stud is, I run these along the wall. When they're over a screw, I can just let go and they stay on the wall.

It's pretty easy to envision the studs when you have four magnets stuck to drywall mounting screws!


EXACTLY.


This is covered with your drill bit procedure. A knot in the wood could make the center seem to be off center, but the drill bit will almost always show you the edge of the wood.

I say "almost" because if the piece you're looking at doesn't show a distinct edge, it could be because it's one of a pair of studs nailed together, or you may have run into a fireblock. In that case you'd better check up and down from where you are, and expect the center to show differently!

Mike, ask Laura -- she found me.
Maybe she can find a stud for you as well :-)

I have started using a rare earth magnet to fine screws in the drywall and then using my Franklin stud finder to verify. Hasn't failed me yet.

Thanks, but one pale, pasty, skinny polish dude that lives on the other side of the country is all I can handle in my life.

Omg, can you imagine if there were more of him? LOL

Magnets are more accurate at detecting a screw than the drywall guy behind the screw gun. Many ways to find a stud. None of them better than another as long as the results are accurate.

+1 on using magnets. No batteries. Durability isn't an issue. Inexpensive. Super small, which helps on travel jobs.

But yes, it's true that magnets aren't stud finders. They're screwhead finders.

Nothing works better than a hammer. Hit, hit, hit, hit, bam, found a stud.