View Full Version : John Thomas -- Outstanding AR gunsmith
When I am the recipient of both great service and outstanding work, I think public praise of the person performing that work and service iss warranted. In this case I want to talk about John Thomas, aka RetroArms. I recently sent him a 16” barrel to be cut down to 14.5, re-threaded and then do a pin and weld of a BG6 muzzle brake. Here is what is amazing about this job, insofar as I am concerned.
I live in central Ky. I mailed the barrel to John (he lives in Warsaw, Ill.) last Friday using priority mail. He received the barrel on Monday, and performed the work, and had it shipped back to me the same day! I received it back today, 5 days after I mailed it to him. Same day service! And the quality of the work he did was excellent. I cannot say enough good things about John Thomas. Needless to say, all of my future AR gunsmithing needs are going to him. Highly recommended!!
(would post photos if I could figure out how)
RVTMaverick
05-22-19, 15:04
You're saved by your last sentence, as I was going to say this thread IS Worthless without photos...LOL
Thanks for the info., just wondering... IF You don't mind saying, How much was His work? And then, what was the total you paid shipping and everything?
When I am the recipient of both great service and outstanding work, I think public praise of the person performing that work and service iss warranted. In this case I want to talk about John Thomas, aka RetroArms. I recently sent him a 16” barrel to be cut down to 14.5, re-threaded and then do a pin and weld of a BG6 muzzle brake. Here is what is amazing about this job, insofar as I am concerned.
I live in central Ky. I mailed the barrel to John (he lives in Wabash, Ill.) last Friday using priority mail. He received the barrel on Monday, and performed the work, and had it shipped back to me the same day! I received it back today, 5 days after I mailed it to him. Same day service! And the quality of the work he did was excellent. I cannot say enough good things about John Thomas. Needless to say, all of my future AR gunsmithing needs are going to him. Highly recommended!!
(would post photos if I could figure out how)
Sure. Work totaled $140 plus $16 shipping, for a total of $156.
I’ve used John for pin/weld jobs. $50 plus return shipping. Outstanding work, fast turnaround, and priced well for it.
Echo the above sentiments. He pinned a gas block and pinned/welded a muzzle device. Great work and awesome turnaround time. I can highly recommend his work.
John does great work. Sending him another one in a few weeks.
everready73
05-22-19, 19:52
He is my go to for stuff I can't do
Have recommended him on here several times.
5740857409
This is the type of work John does; he is awesome
Good to know. Thanks for posting.
John drilled and taper pinned a FSB for me. I had the same experience as those above; great communication, entirely reasonable pricing, and beautiful work. The FSB was perfectly aligned with the index pin.
His turnaround was exceptionally fast as well. He will be my go-to smith from now on.
Does anyone have a pricing list from him?
I don't have a price list, but I can say my experience with him mirrors the others. I paid $75 (including shipping) to have a 16" Colt barrel chopped, threaded and crowned, threads reparkerized, and gas port opened up.
Well worth the money and he's now my go to for anything I can't do myself.
I think I paid (shipping included) $130 to have a gas block pinned as well as dimpled for the set screw and a muzzle device to be pinned and welded.
John and his work are fantastic. Im not sure if it is current, but here is the price list he gave me last year:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190527/552e432b46a165997caed9a954c40765.jpg
Does anyone have a pricing list from him?
Just e-mail him and tell him what services you want done. He gets back to you quickly
Hello, all. I just wanted to pop in and report that I had two positive experiences with John Thomas and Retro Arms Works. He assembled two uppers for me, including pinning and welding one and chopping, threading, and re-crowning another. In both cases, the work performed was flawless. Likewise, turnaround times were lightning fast. I heartily recommend John Thomas and Retro Arms Works. You will not be disappointed!
El Vaquero
02-20-21, 18:57
Those sending work to him that involves cutting and threading, make sure your bore is concentric when you get it back if you’re going to be using a suppressor.
Diamondback
02-20-21, 19:02
I've only dealt with him once, for the shim-pin-weld on my M4, but the guy is an absolute rockstar all the way from project conception through to final delivery. I don't know when it will be but I know I would have ZERO hesitation about doing business with him again.
Good to hear all the positive reviews.
He has a couple of my barrels right a little facelift. Ready to get ‘em back!
Indeed he is, any time I want a FSB pinned, I send it to him, crazy fast turn around times from my experience.
mpddoug162
02-20-21, 19:32
I had John modify a barrel in addition to modifying and grafting a bm59 fh-mb onto the carbine barrel for a prototype build. Excellent work and communications along with fast turn around time.
I mostly lurk here. John recently drilled and pinned two Daniel Defense barrels for me, work was completed day the barrels received and in the mail back to me. To say I am pleased would be an understatement. Plus he stayed in touch with me via email when I first reached out to him to ask a couple questions. He will now be my number 1 go to for work.
Eurodriver
02-21-21, 10:25
Does he pin and weld suppressor mounts?
What about timing? Does he require shims sent with the muzzle devices or have his own?
Does he pin and weld suppressor mounts?
What about timing? Does he require shims sent with the muzzle devices or have his own?
Call or email him. He's very responsive to inquiries.
Diamondback
02-21-21, 10:44
Call or email him. He's very responsive to inquiries.
I think this is just Euro being a troll again, mockingly asking newbie questions.
Eurodriver
02-21-21, 11:46
I think this is just Euro being a troll again, mockingly asking newbie questions.
Some companies don’t pin suppressor mounts because they are harder than ordinary muzzle brakes, or at least they charge much more for it (See: Adco)
Diamondback
02-21-21, 12:27
For a simple untimed shim, here's the job John did on my M4, with a spare shim for another project.
https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/bf1c112d-e591-4fdb-98e5-09280d4ddaa8/Screenshot%202020-04-22%20at%207.30.39%20AM%20-%20Edited.png/:/
For a simple untimed shim, here's the job John did on my M4, with a spare shim for another project.
https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/bf1c112d-e591-4fdb-98e5-09280d4ddaa8/Screenshot%202020-04-22%20at%207.30.39%20AM%20-%20Edited.png/:/
That looks like a compression washer (or whatever the tech term is), and not a shim. Its always possible I'm wrong, but if a can is ever going to be used a shim is desired. Some people also prefer the look of a shim, though the compression washer is certainly quicker to install.
^ There’s a shim behind the crush washer.
Diamondback
02-21-21, 13:03
That looks like a compression washer (or whatever the tech term is), and not a shim. Its always possible I'm wrong, but if a can is ever going to be used a shim is desired. Some people also prefer the look of a shim, though the compression washer is certainly quicker to install.
^ There’s a shim behind the crush washer.
There's 0.2" of shim behind the standard crush washer--even in person you have to look REALLY close to see where the Colt barrel stops and John's shim begins. The spare shim is set aside for a possible 12.5" build on a 12" Centurion C4 Pocket, in case my "Ersatz GL/SSC" goes forward and takes that path.
I had John pin and weld an SOLGW NOX with Dead Air mount onto a 13.7" barrel with a 13.5" URX-4. The integrated barrel nut on the URX-4 required that he do the work with the rail installed. There was very, very, very little clearance and he got it done with no issue.
I do not know on shimming - I sent the upper with the muzzle device already properly shimmed and timed.
SonOfAGunn
02-22-21, 22:45
John did some barrel work for me recently. He cut a 14.5 down to 12", removed the handguard cap, removed the sling and tabs, and reparkerized where he cut the tabs. On another he pinned a gas block, and on the third he pinned and welded a flash hider as well as removing the handguard cap/sling swivel/sling tabs and reparkerized.
Today I got back another barrel/upper from him. He removed a pin and welded muzzle device, installed a rail, and pinned and welded a new flash hider for me. The RIS II was a tight fit on the MEGA upper (billet) and he had to take off a very small amount of material from two of the screws so that it would mount up. He called me before making the changes. He refinished the screws and it's only noticeable if you look closely in bright light.
I was without the first set of barrels for about 7-8 days, and the work looked fantastic. After sending out the barrel I got back today I had to wait 11(four of the days were delayed by the carrier) days before it was back in my possession.
It's been a pleasure doing business with him, and I'll be using his services again in the future.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210223/45557e6effb9a52c337358d5448beeda.jpg
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210223/6a99ae05b263f8f06607e03269b73d54.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210223/322fe0463cfeab35a08d4314bc6d4064.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210223/b90def5eecbf76ee8d495f84da28d8d7.jpg
Nephrology
02-28-21, 22:38
I had John Thomas pin the gas block on my 2 Aero uppers as well as disassemble/inspect/reassemble correctly (good parts for the money, but don't trust them to do this right...). John did great work for a very reasonable price, less than 2 weeks door to door. If I require AR gunsmithing in the future he will get my business again without hesitation. Has my strongest recommendation for anyone looking for services he can provid.
I got my barrels today. Damn nice work.
He shaved a couple of FSBs for me and if he’s not doing the ones for Colt, I’d be surprised.
I had ADCO do one for me years ago and they did it by hand. Looked like hell but it was covered by the rail.
casualreclaimer
03-20-21, 09:19
I recently sent a nitride barrel to Mr. Thomas to have a FSB pinned, and I agree, he does nice work. His turn around time was quicker than you would expect as well. Should anyone ever ask, I would not hesitate to recommend his services.
Sent John Thomas a barrel to remove the pinned muzzle device. His price was much better than anywhere else. The barrel was done and shipped out the same day it arrived. Highly recommend Mr. Thomas.
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