The StudBuddy Magnetic Stud Finder

There’s nothing inside the StudBuddy to switch on. It’s an orange plastic stick with strong neodymium magnets sealed inside, and you slide it slowly across a wall until it suddenly grabs on and stays put. What it found is a screw or nail head, and those are driven into the studs, so the spot where it sticks is the stud.

No batteries, no moving parts, no calibration and no beeping that changes its mind halfway across the wall. It works on drywall hung on wood or metal studs, and once it’s stuck in place both hands are free to mark the spot with a pencil. It’s made in the USA, and it’s small enough to live in a junk drawer or tool bag without getting in the way.

Give it to the guy with a TV mount, a heavy mirror or a row of floating shelves on his project list, or anyone who has ever knocked on a wall and guessed. It’s a cheap tool that turns a guess into a sure thing.

The catch: it only works on drywall. Older homes with lath and plaster walls won’t give it anything useful to find, so check what the walls are made of before you wrap it.