Stanley SSI47-400 Basic Stud Finder

This is such a simple tool! Works every time! Old school ways of doing things are the best ways. No electronics, batteries or complicated directions. Will never let you down. Buy it!

There are a lot of ways to hunt for studs behind drywall. After tapping the wall to listen for hollow vs. solid sounds, this little tool is probably the oldest.My application here was a bit different. I knew where the wood behind the drywall was, but I specifically needed to know where the screws were for a ceiling speaker install.For some reason (a previous patch?) someone laid a 2x4 on my drop ceiling and screwed into it randomly. Unfortunately, this was done right where I needed to mount a speaker. I needed to find the screws so I could get the 2x4 out of the way.I remembered that my grandfather had a tool like this so I searched for it on Amazon and found this little guy. The concept is simple. It's a cylindrical magnet pivoted near or at its center inside of a plastic housing. You slide this across the drywall, and when you slide over a (ferrous) screw or nail head, the magnet will move inside the housing to follow it. Then you can slide back and forth around it a bit to zero in on its location.I used it here and it worked perfectly. Now that hole is clear and ready for me to mount my speaker... all thanks to hanging with my grand dad and poking around in his toolbox.

These old school S.F.'s are tried & true !I remember seeing these in toolboxes, junk drawers, window sills, Stanley tools probably mailed one to every household back in the 70's. used to cost 1.19, now they're like 6 bucks. Worth it ! JUST buy/try one guy , you'll dig it.

Used this to find metal studs in the walls of my new apartment. It works fine, but the magnet isn't as strong as I expected.

I had an old one of these that was well-loved and absolutely stellar. Couldn't find it so was pleased to find it on Amazon. Unfortunately, this one is not good. Running it over smooth sheetrock produces no results. Magnet is way too weak. Disappointed in Stanley--I think it may be a case of "they don't make 'em like they used to." I'm tossing mine in the trash. It is useless. My advice would be to save your money.

Works just fine. It's a magnet so it will find nails in the studs. If you're not Patient, well, it might be challenging.. It's worth the money..

Works very well and priced reasonably

Works, but you have to go soooo slow because unless your walls are paper thin the magnet literally has to be directly over it, so you have to go over every inch. There are definitely better and easier and more convenient to use stud finders on the market. All in all, if you are looking for a cheap option, this will work; but if you are looking for a good, quick, easy to use stud finder, and are willing to spend a little more, do that lol