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.
I can agree with you about the dial, a bit. I'm not a fan of their dials. (I only ever tried one type.) However, if the lock isn't tight, then it's truly a superb lock.
So, here's an update. I got my new CDL-4 (Big Red 4-wheel Group 2). As soon as I hand inserted the spline key to quickly try it out, I was disappointed because it wasn't just tight like the first CDL-3 I had, it was WAY tighter.
Rather than asking MBA to replace it, I decided to call Big Red Safe Locks and I wound up speaking with the man himself, Michael Walsh. As soon as I told him it was tight, he understood and told me that he'd replace the lock, which he did. He said that there had been a customer who wanted very tight locks, but the factory made too many and shipped them out to other customers. The second lock I received was as perfect as, I believe, one could hope for a group 2 lock to be. (The only exception is that, like most locks, there's an offset to dial if you were to dial the combination starting from the opposite direction. The S&G 6730 and some cheap, nameless Chinese lock I have can be dialed in either direction.) With the S&G dial I put on it, it's just smooooooth. It's probably my favorite lock.
For me, the jury was out for quite sometime about the quality of the Big Red locks until I got that replacement CDL-4. madsamurai, after you install the CDL-3, push on the bolt when it's completely locked up and then do the same to a 6730.
You'll begin to notice quality differences. The CDL-3 is rock solid and doesn't give at all, whereas the 6730 does. Now, I don't necessarily think that in of itself is a measure of quality, but you begin feeling and noticing things about it that are much more solid about that lock.
madsamurai, please do let us know how you like it after it's mounted. I hope you enjoy it!