just wondering if anyone had any experience comparing the davies 1900h clones from BLMS and small bear? BLMS says that the knobs are just "ok" in their description (i really appreciate the honesty), and they suggest ordering a few more than needed to deal with the ones that aren't quite at spec. BLMS clones are about half the price of the small bear clones. I'd pay a little more to get the knobs that i know are going to be consistently in spec, however. Any thoughts?
I use this style of knob almost exclusively and have bought from both BLMS and Small Bear. The Bear knobs are much better; BLMS version is a bit wonky when tightening the screws.
I have a suspicion that the BLMS, Tayda, and Mammoth knobs are all the same. They are hit or miss.
Jacob
yeah that was what i was worried about... do you have a favorite supplier of knobs? i definitely like the look of the 1900Hs the best most of the time...
I don't, sorry. I know that Smallbear, while expensive, rarely stocks anything that's crap. You can go there relatively safely.
Jacob
BYOC is now stocking them in a majority of colors for a good price. Not sure of the quality but everyting I have purchased in the past has been good. Maybe check for feedback on their forum.
http://buildyourownclone.com/parts/knobs/knob1900.html
AllenM
It would be nice to know how good the BYOC knobs are. The ones from Smallbear are really very nice and the Tayda variety are horrible. They're probably the part with the biggest difference in quality from place-to-place that I've ordered.
I had Mammoth throw some of those in an order, and I was disappointed comparing them to SmallBear's, so I doubt I'll order them again. The difference in quality is apparent in the overall tooling, and especially the line on the knob.
I'm a little partial to Steve @ SmallBear anyway -- I've ordered from him for years, and he's still got a small operation, so I order what I can from him.
Jameco has a pretty bad-ass selection of knobs.