Finder search results are useless, unless ridicously specified

If you are searching for a full or partial file or folder name, the use the Spotlight name operator.

Find any file with "abc" in its name

name:abc

Find any file with white-space surrounded by the letters s and b in its name:

name:"s b"

Find any file with a PDF extension in the name:

name:.pdf

There are a bunch of these operators that used properly, or in conjunction with one another, can improve your search results. I recommend that you type the word Spotlight into the Finder Help menu Search box. Look at the result menu item that begins with Narrow your Search Results…

The Finder doesn't just search for File and Folder names. It searches all content on that Mac. Every word in almost every document is indexed.

If you want to search by file name only, use cmd-ctrl-shift-F.

When you enter the search in Finder, you’ll see a little box appear below the search box with an offer to search for just filenames with that string. Something like search for files named {whatever}. Select that.

Finder uses Spotlight and indexes everything.

If you look at the top of the search output in Finder, you’ll see a search criteria prompt sequence appear at the top of the search way way to save custom searches, and you can set those searches to do all sorts of very specific or very general searches, and csn then re-use those searches. You could save a JPG-type filename search, for instance.

Find Any File...

http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/index.php

Hold Option or alt key when selecting Find to Find All.

EasyFind...

http://www.devon-technologies.com/download/