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joblake326

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Hi,
Just to be clear: I'm not trying to use this forum to sell anything. All I'm looking for is honest feedback about my invention. I'm still in the process of deciding if I want to license it to a manufacturer or to just build them myself. So if you want to check out my video, go to my website at The StudTHUD. Let me know what you think: good or bad. I figure if anyone would be able to rate its potential it would the folks that come to these home repair websites.
Thanks!
John
 
I want one ! And jr. too !
Great video- really professional looking.
 
That is a great, and simple, invention. Those would save me a lot of time, money and cussing. Are they available for sale now?
 
Hi Launchpad,
I'm still making them in my garage...looking to start manufacturing asap. I'm just trying to get a feel from folks like you as to the success I'm going to have selling them
 
I've got a Pentium III with a 56K dial-up modem, so downloading video for me is like watching grass grow. Can someone describe this invention and why it's better than existing methods?
 
Hi Nestor,
A 56K dial-up modem? How do you sleep at night? ; )

What follows is a sale pitch---so pardon the hype. But maybe it will kind of answer your question. If you want anymore info feel free to email directly: [email protected].

Okay. Take a deep breath. Here it comes....
The StudTHUD® is a product that I started working on almost 2 years
ago. I do home repairs and was frustrated by all the fancy looking yet disappointing products that were on the market to find wall studs. I kept buying different ones with the hope that they'd finally get it right. But I soon concluded that the (electronic) technology used by all of these things, although they look good, would never allow you to know for sure what was on the other side of that wall. The market is simply flooded with these things.

So I set out to come up with a "better mouse trap", a non-electronic; i.e. magnetic stud finder that would eliminate the guess work that has become synonymous with ALL of these electronic devices. Folks just buy them because that's all there is. There are a few obscure simple magnetic ones out there but 95% of what you'll find in the stores are of the electronic variety....meaning that they can only make an educated guess at where there might be a stud.

I know this sounds self serving but the honest truth is that everyone who has tried my StudTHUD® has been blown away as to how simple it is compared to the competition. They all think that it's a winner. By their enthusiasm, they've been instrumental in keeping me motivated and have pushed me to get it patented and marketed so they can eventually buy one.

I would have thrown in the towel a long time ago because when you work on something day in and day out, the novelty wears off and it doesn't seem all that great. You'll see a couple of those people in my video. Their reactions are genuine.

As far as the stud finding market in general, there is definitely an equal interest between women and men. Before I got into this project, I didn't have any idea as to how many people not only know what a stud finder is but actually have one somewhere that they either don't like or can't understand.

A simple, easy to use and 100% accurate product like this, if
effectively marketed, will eventually render the competition obsolete.

Virtually everyone over the age of 16 knows what a stud finder is and each of these people will need to buy one sooner or later. As it stands now, they won't know what they are going to purchase until they go to the store and buy whatever is carried.

There is none that stands out above the rest. They all have the same lackluster reputation: they are an exercise in trial and error; a.k.a. frustration.

Not one of them can guarantee that when you drill a hole in the wall that there will really be a stud there.

"There's gotta be a better way!!!"

The StudTHUD® is the answer. In the future, when folks think about what they need to find a stud, they will think "StudTHUD®" and won't leave the store with anything else.

Just look at the reviews for what's currently out there and you'll see that folks are looking for a stud finder that finally lives up to its name.

I believe that the StudTHUD® will become the "Kleenex" or "Xerox" of the stud finder world.
 
I definitely want some. The one that marks the screw head is what I would buy a bucket full of. I rip so much drywall at work that knowing where I can dig out a screw head to pull full panels would be nothing short of a religious experience for me.

The other one wouldn't really do much for me, or replace my old stud finder when I'm doing a restoration project or some other renovation. I just need a little more accuracy then finding a screw or nail head in some areas.

BUT- I can definitely see a huge market for people looking for a cheap, easy way to hang pictures and the occasional shelf or two. My wife would love them! Plus they are just the right size to lose and make a guy run out to Wal- Mart or Home Depot to buy a few more. It's just a great idea that I wish I would have thought of so I could retire at the ripe old age of 35......

Seriously, as soon as you get enough of them ones that mark the screw heads together, I'm good for a couple of hundred bucks worth of them. Great idea.
 
John:

OK, I have a $5 Stanley magnetic stud finder of the following description:

0305028.jpg


It's merely a pivoting magnet that points to drywall screws or nails. One thing I like about it is that it has a large notch right at the pivot point of the magnet. So, I can move my Stanley stud finder horizontally at various places on my wall to determine the approximate locations of fasteners by noting a response in the magnet and mark that location with a "V" mark. Then I do an Encore performance for the audience moving the stud finder vertically to find the elevation of the suspected fastener, and mark that elevation. The two "V" marks should then point to the location of the fastener. And then I can move the stud finder over that suspected location and confirm it's existance by the unambiguous response of the magnet.

(I also have a Zircon Stud Finder for my gyproc lath plaster walls.)

What can the "Stud Thud" do that my $5 Stanley magnetic stud finder can't do? This is the central point you need to bring out in your advertising because that's the question each and every one of your potential customers will be asking themselves. Telling them repeatedly that it's better will fall on deaf ears until you can explain why it's better. What will the Stud Thud enable me to do that I'm unable to do now with my $5 Stanley Special? That is, HOW is it superior to other magnetic stud finders?
 
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What will the Stud Thud enable me to do that I'm unable to do now with my $5 Stanley Special? That is, HOW is it superior to other magnetic stud finders?

Hi Nestor,
Sorry for taking so long to respond but the forum banned me "forever" when they thought that I was trying to sell something...I thought I made that clear at the onset.
Anyway, let me address your questions---which are all valid ones:
The reason that I invented a studfinder that does what the StudTHUD does was because I have used most of the stuff that's out there...from the electronic ones to the magnetic ones. I'm only going to discuss magnetic ones since the electronic ones are in a world of their own and that's all I have to say about them ; )

My first stud finder was the Stanley that you mention. It was always my favorite because I knew that when it indicated that it had found a screw, then the chances were good that I was right over a stud. The problem with it is that it is much too wimpy; i.e. magnet is weak and the mechanism is way too sensitive. If you're on a wall that has the typical aberations such as little specs of stuff stuck in the paint, they will deflect the pivoted magnet and suggest that it has found a screw...which means that you really have to watch the thing very closely and make sure what it is telling you is correct. It is also position sensitive which means that it works differently or not at all depending on how it is oriented. Additionally the head of the magnet is very very small. Which means that unless you drag it smack dab over a screw, it won't pick it up. And lastly, due to the magnet's lack of strength, it is limited to sheetrock---you'd be hard pressed to find a screw underneath tile and it would never be able to pick up the presence of the nails in plasterboard or worse, in lath and plaster.

As far as the other magnetic ones out there, the best is the Magic Stud finder. It is a very clever design. It uses stronger magnets and its method of indication is unambiguous. I came up with the approach for the StudTHUD without ever having seen the Magic Studfinder. According to my IP attorney, although there are similarities between us, there are very fundamental differences that allow us to coexist without infringing on each other's patents. I tend to think that the Magic Studfinder is limited to finding screws in sheetrock. It might be able to pick up the screws under tile but beyond that it's not going to work.

As far as the other magnetic studfinders, they are no more than big magnets that you rub on the wall until you feel the pull of a screw. They're fine for sheetrock but that's about it. You can't feel the pull of the nails under plasterboard or lath and plaster. It's like trying to hold a magnet in your hand to find the North Pole.

So here are the advantages of the StudTHUD over all the other magnetic stud finders that are out there are:
1. Ease of use: it's so obvious that all you do is ask someone to rub it on the wall to find a stud and wham! As soon as they ride it over a screw, the magnet plunges forward and whacks the wall. If you move it away, the magnet returns to its resting position and is ready to "thud" the next screw. If you just let it go when it's in its "thud" position, it'll just stay attached to the wall showing you where the stud is.
2. You don't have to look at it since it can be held in any position and its "thud" will tell you when it's found something.
3. It will find fasteners in ceilings and floors. This is useful if you need to find out where the strapping is in the ceiling. I'm not sure how useful it is for floors---but I guess a more useful variation on this would be to find hidden metal in wood that you're going to plane. So rather than ruining your planer's blade, the StudTHUD, can be rubbed over the surface of the board and it will thud whenever it finds even the slightest piece of metal.
4. There are no parts to lose. (Magic Studfinder has those discs) The StudTHUD has everything locked up inside of the housing.
5. The size and shape. It is small enough to stick in your pocket but big enough so that you won't lose it. It feels just right in your hand.
6. The magnet is 1 inch in diameter. This makes it very easy to find fasteners since it is scanning such as large area. Anyone should be able to find a screw in a sheetrocked wall within 10 seconds. From that point, you just move it straight up to find more and then straight down. Then move it 16" to the left or right to find fasteners in the adjacent studs and you've got a solid picture of exactly what is going on behind that wall.
7. There are 3 different flavors to choose from:
The "Lite" which, like all the StudTHUDs has a 1" diameter magnet, but it is of a weaker strength. So it is strong enough to find screws under sheetrock but beyond that you should get the "Pro".
The "Pro" has a much stronger magnet and is adjustable. This makes it capable of finding fasteners in any kind of wall. From sheetrock to plasterboard to lath and plaster. To aid in the indication of fasteners, the body is clear so that you will not only hear the thud, but you can also see the magnet move when it is being attracted to metal in the wall. This comes in real handy when you have no idea how a wall is constructed. I was pleasantly surprised when I used the "Lite" to find studs in someone's condo and was confused as to how the "Lite" was "thudding" the wall. It didn't make sense. So I got out the "Pro" and it became very clear. They had used steel studs that were mounted sideways! The Pro, due to its visual and audible indication, allowed me to "see" exactly what was going on because the magnet's amount of movement was greater over a screw than it was over the steel stud! Very cool.
The "Mark Too" has the same strong magnet as the "Pro" although it is not adjustable at this time. It is unique from the "Lite" and the "Pro" in that it can find studs on either of its ends. One end works just like the other StudTHUDs where it will "thud" the wall when it finds a screw. The clever part is that once you determine which screw or screws that you want to mark, you just flip the "Mark Too" over and it has another, smaller magnet that will push a pencil tip out as it rides over a screw and will leave a mark directly over the fastener. You don't need to look at it since it's automatic.

I've just finished up the final versions of the "Lite", the "Pro" and the "Mark Too". I'm going to work out some packaging because I'm sending these out to be evaluated. I've posted some pictures at my Studthud site. So you can check that out to see how things have changed since last Decemeber when I did the video.

So, I hope this kind of answers some of your questions. I'd be more than happy to send a sample to anyone who would seriously like to try these out. So drop me a line at [email protected].
Thanks for your time,
John
 
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Hi Nestor,
Sorry for taking so long to respond but the forum banned when they "thought" that I was trying to sell something...I thought I made that clear at the onset. They never responded to why I was banned.
cool.

Your other screen name is not banned, if you are having trouble signing in contact TxBuilder, site administrator. You were only warned, in a very nice way to not sell your product. I for one think its a pretty good idea, and hope it wworks well for you.

Tom
 
Inventor/marketer -

7 comes after 6.

Do you run out of words, ideas or time?

Dick
 
Your other screen name is not banned.....
Tom
Yes you are correct sir. My bad. I thought it was this site that banned me. So sorry about that. You were very nice about it.
Thanks,
John

p.s.
what's this 6 comes before 7 jazz about?
 
Unless you have the resources of Zircon-like company this doesn't seem plausible.

I guess that you must be a "glass is half empty" kind of guy. Why else would you write something like this?
 
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