Find the Exact Center of a Stud, Not Just an Edge, With a Deep-Scanning Stud Finder

The Problem

A basic edge-detecting stud finder beeps the moment its sensor crosses onto a stud, then goes quiet once it's fully over it — so all you get is one edge. Driving a screw at that beep lands it near the edge of the stud rather than the middle, which is barely enough wood to bite into and holds far less than a screw driven dead center.

The Technique

1. Run a deep-scanning stud finder across the wall the way you would a basic one.
2. Instead of a single beep, watch the display: it lights up the full width of the stud as the sensor passes over it, and the indicator moves to track exactly where the stud's edges — and center — actually are.
3. When two studs sit close together, the display shows both separately instead of merging them into one long reading.
4. Mark the center shown on the display, not the point where a basic finder would have first beeped, and drive your screw or anchor there.