A stud finder is a small, handheld electronic or magnetic device used in determining where the wood or metal framing studs are located on a wall after the wall has been covered with sheet rock or another walling surface.
Three Main Categories of the Stud Finder
The first and oldest kind of stud finder uses a small magnet, which will swing toward the nails or screws that were used in securing the stud during framing. The second kind of stud finder uses what is called an internal capacitor plate. This detects changes in the wall, due to the density of the wall.
These changes are called the dielectric constant of the wall. This stud finder is called an internal capacitor stud finder, and these are what are most commonly sold today on the market. As the user slides the stud finder across the wall, it detects the denser studs. The third kind of stud finder is the most accurate and technologically sophisticated, the edge finder, and it uses a small radar system to show exactly where the edge of the stud is.
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