Found a trick for fishing line through finished walls with a magnet

I was running coax through a finished basement last Tuesday and kept snagging on insulation, took me 45 minutes for one drop. Then I taped a small rare earth magnet to the end of my fish tape and used another magnet on the outside to guide it through. Anyone else use magnets like this or have a better method for tight spaces?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.xena15d ago

Oh man, the magnet trick is one of those things that feels genius until you realize you forgot to account for the fact that metal studs exist. I mean, idk if you've run into that yet, but I've definitely had a magnet stick to the stud instead of following the path I wanted. It's like the universe just laughs at you. Maybe it's just me, but I've started putting a thin piece of cardboard under the magnet on the outside to keep it from getting pulled sideways by random screws or nails in the wall. It's not perfect but helps a bit. Also, I've found that using two smaller magnets on the outside instead of one big one lets you "steer" the tape around corners a little better. Just a thought for when you inevitably hit the studs.

felix47815d ago

Nails and screws in drywall are usually coated so they don't rust, so a standard magnet won't stick to them unless you're using a super strong rare earth one. The stud finder trick works better for that because it picks up the fasteners in the studs, not the bare metal.