Big Red CDL-3
Martin Hewitt, Investigator Chronicles of Martin Hewitt
mk5734 wrote:I have a Big Red CDL-3 mounted cutaway I purchased a few months back from MBA USA. The lock feels very solid to me; much more so than an S&G 6730. However, the only drawback I find with this lock is that the tension is just too high. It's very much tighter than the 6730. When turning all 3 wheels, it's difficult to have it land on the right number as the dial becomes jerky and jumpy as you try to turn it smoothly. It's not like it can't be turned or like a tight bolt I'm trying to unscrew. It's just much more tension than is comfortable. Do any of you observe this with your CDL-3?
madsamurai wrote:mk5734 wrote:I have a Big Red CDL-3 mounted cutaway I purchased a few months back from MBA USA. The lock feels very solid to me; much more so than an S&G 6730. However, the only drawback I find with this lock is that the tension is just too high. It's very much tighter than the 6730. When turning all 3 wheels, it's difficult to have it land on the right number as the dial becomes jerky and jumpy as you try to turn it smoothly. It's not like it can't be turned or like a tight bolt I'm trying to unscrew. It's just much more tension than is comfortable. Do any of you observe this with your CDL-3?
Could it simply be mounted too tightly? I imagine they probably don't spend a whole lot of time tweaking those when they mount those at the factory...
madsamurai wrote:Just got a CDL-3, not as impressed with the overall quality as I hoped... especially the dial. It looks so much like the LaGard dial in pictures that I thought maybe they were the same, just branded differently, but that is not the case. It touches the uneven plastic rim insert in the dial ring and scrapes as it turns, which is annoying, and is going to take a good amount of sanding to get rid of. The lock and the dial both look pretty cheap... will have it mounted tomorrow and we'll see how it functions. I'll wait to get a CDL-4 when they go on sale...
LaGard dials are my personal favorite (of what I've seen) aside from the plastic ring that came with the black & white one I purchased. I like their cleaner numbers and lines. The S&G dials are built well, but the way they paint them makes them look a little sloppy to me.
MartinHewitt wrote:Konnichiwa, Samurai-san! What do you not like at the lock ithself?
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