That customer's 'fancy' wall mount cost me an extra hour in Phoenix
Read a post about a guy who found a hidden stud behind a plaster wall using a cheap magnet, saved him from drilling into a pipe. Tried it today on a tricky install and honestly, it beat my $200 finder on this old house. Anyone else got a weird tool trick they swear by when walls get sketchy?
Those little neodymium discs are stupid cheap too. I carry two in my pouch at all times, one for nails and one for when I drop the first one behind a baseboard. Broke a glass tile once trusting a $300 Bosch on plaster, never again.
honestly I was the same way, always dropped cash on the fancy finders and thought magnets were for like fridge art or whatever. then my buddy handed me one of those little neodymium discs and I laughed at him, but man, on some lathe and plaster it just zeroes right in on the nails like a bloodhound. I still use the electronic one on drywall but now I grab the magnet first when things feel sketchy, it's just way more honest about what's actually behind there. saved me from punching a hole in a cast iron vent stack last week too, so yeah, I'm a believer now.