View Full Version : Retro Arms Works
sentinel77
05-09-20, 09:46
Hey ya'll, I thought I'd post about a recent project I did through Retro Arms Works as I feel this review might be pertinent to what some are looking to do currently or in the future. I set out to build a classic m4gery with your typical parts: 14.5 barrel w/fsb, quad rail, bcm a2x, etc. I sent all my parts to John Thomas, the owner of Retro Arms Works, on a Thursday morning. He completed the work over the weekend and had my upper shipped on the following Monday. I received my package by Friday afternoon (4 days to complete project and 4 days to ship back to me). To sum it up, the work was flawless. Everything was perfectly aligned and nicely oiled up. In addition, the pin/weld job on the A2x was absolutely phenomenal. You literally cannot tell whether or not there is a pin/weld (I'm guessing he parkerized the weld spot). If anyone is looking to do some sort of clone build project or even a simple upper assembly requiring a pin/weld, I HIGHLY recommend going through John Thomas at Retro Arms Works. 10/10 craftsmanship and 10/10 customer service.
Thanks for listening, and hope ya'll stay safe and healthy!
Diamondback
05-09-20, 10:13
Matches my experience with shimming, pinning and welding a standard A2. If you're a cloner who doesn't want to SBR an M4, John should be your FIRST call--and he shines just as much on Service Before Sale too. As I look at my upper, I have to look really close to see where Colt's work stops and his begins...
This is a photo I sent him for his website gallery.
https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/bf1c112d-e591-4fdb-98e5-09280d4ddaa8/Screenshot%202020-04-22%20at%207.30.39%20AM%20-%20Edited.png/:/
I have sung the praises of John Thomas on several occasions myself. He has done a couple of barrel cuts, and several pin and welds, for me over the past couple of years. The quality of his work is excellent. As sentinel77 stated, you literally cannot see the weld spot on the muzzle device, the finish he puts on it is that good. The barrels he cut down for me have worked flawlessly, and the new cut threads have handled whatever muzzle devices I have chosen to put on them. In addition, John does not fool around once he receives your job. He gets it done and back to you in unbelievable time. His rates are reasonable, and he is a heck of a nice guy to talk with, either on the phone or via email. I highly recommend John Thomas for whatever gunsmith work you need done.
He got a package from me yesterday, complete 12.5 URG build. John is one of two guys I have full faith in giving any work too and he’s the only one that accepts work through the mail so he gets anything serious from me.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
John Thomas is the High Priest in the Temple of the AR15 Gunsmith. Accept no substitutes
I've used his services based on the recommendations from this forum. I don't know if he personally worked on my upper or not, but my experience with Retro Arms Works, unfortunately, has been different. I really wish this wasn't the case. This is not to diminish his work for other people, just sharing opinion on my one-time personal experience.
I've used his services based on the recommendations from this forum. I don't know if he personally worked on my upper or not, but my experience with Retro Arms Works, unfortunately, has been different. I really wish this wasn't the case. This is not to diminish his work for other people, just sharing opinion on my one-time personal experience.
I believe he works on everything himself. Please explain.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Another very satisfied Retro Arms customer. Good comms, outstanding work, and fast turnaround. Will definitely go to in the future.
-Rainman
I'm also a fan. Did a great pin and weld for me quickly and cheap.
everready73
05-18-20, 11:43
I believe he works on everything himself. Please explain.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Would like to know what happened as well. Did you try contacting him?
I’m another very satisfied customer. Can’t say enough good things about my experience with John.
Would like to know what happened as well. Did you try contacting him?
I answered @Wake27's question privately with the details. I didn't contact Retro Arms Works about the issues.
There wasn't anything complicated or unusual with my original work order. Nothing which required cutting, custom fitting, or any risky or precision operations like that. All were quality brands, new parts. I figured if it wasn't done right the first time it could only get worse the second time around.
Plus, I would have to pay for the shipping both ways, possibly buy new parts, explain the whole thing, and etc. Not worth the expense, time, and nerves to be honest.
Lesson learned - buy factory AR uppers and move on with your life.
P.S. - again this is just my opinion as an end user. I'm not a gunsmith and not qualified to professionally evaluate one. I'm just using a common sense and comparison to what I've seen. For all I know I can be 100% wrong and simply ignorant of quality work.
I had a issue with a barrel that JT installed a front sight base on. Fulton Armory drop shipped the wrong part (was supposed to be .625 standard FSB) and they shipped a "F" marked height FSB. This wasn't going to work on a 14.5" Colt M16 restoration.
The issue was My Fault as I would have caught it before sending it out but tried to save time by just having them ship direct. Fulton's reply was oops!
JT insisted that I send it back so he could make it right even though it was no fault of his. He confirmed the replacement part, completed the work and had it back in under 1 week.
alx01 If the work wasn't don't to your satisfaction you should have reached out to JT. IMO he deserved the opportunity to know and make it right. As far as factory AR's........I've seen my share of factory(Colt) guns returned for issues that should have not shipped. No company is perfect!
I would not hesitate to send any work to John Thomas of Retro Arms Works!
CatBacker88
05-19-20, 07:39
I answered @Wake27's question privately with the details. I didn't contact Retro Arms Works about the issues.
There wasn't anything complicated or unusual with my original work order. Nothing which required cutting, custom fitting, or any risky or precision operations like that. All were quality brands, new parts. I figured if it wasn't done right the first time it could only get worse the second time around.
Plus, I would have to pay for the shipping both ways, possibly buy new parts, explain the whole thing, and etc. Not worth the expense, time, and nerves to be honest.
Lesson learned - buy factory AR uppers and move on with your life.
P.S. - again this is just my opinion as an end user. I'm not a gunsmith and not qualified to professionally evaluate one. I'm just using a common sense and comparison to what I've seen. For all I know I can be 100% wrong and simply ignorant of quality work.
WTF? I don't detect any common sense so far. This is just bizarre. Bottom line is it's pretty poor form to take a dump on a guy's work and then double down with assertions he'd make you, the customer bear all the costs to correct the problems. There's no "common sense" in your remarks at all.
I don't agree. He should be allowed to post negative experiences, just like you can post positive.
He doesn't need to go into details or justify himself.
I don't agree. He should be allowed to post negative experiences, just like you can post positive.
He doesn't need to go into details or justify himself.
No one is saying he can't post a negative experience. Why did he PM Wake27 instead of posting it openly here? I mean he brought it up here publicly, why respond in private? You've had a number of positive responses in this thread as to why they like John Thomas's work. Why hide the negative? By all means, throw it out there and let everyone decide if it is legit or not. Don't snipe and then duck behind a PM.
lahunter57
05-19-20, 19:15
Another positive vote here. He cut down, threaded, and pinned my LMT MWS barrel. Quick turnaround too.
JT of Retro Arms Works has done about half a dozen or maybe 8 jobs for me, including re-Parkerizing, FSB drilling & pinning, drilling/pinning/welding, odd gun smithing—never had a bad experience & the man must have an “in” with USPS because the longest a project took for my stuff was next day.
I’ve been a customer since JT first opened & will continue to frequent his skills until he closes. I’ve been so pleased, I’ve referred 3 other people to him.
I’m sure the man isn’t perfect, but I’ve never read a complaint about work quality or turn-around time until the recent poster’s “sniping.”
Sounds....unusual.
REMOVED.
I don't want to get into the discussion with attitude or a polemic where some people think that their experience or opinion is somehow more relevant to my situation than one of my own. This drama distracts from the original topic. In reality there is no drama - I paid for the service, service was performed. That's it.
If somebody is truly interested in the technical aspect why I expressed such opinion, feel free to reach out via PM I'll reply when I have a chance.
No one is saying he can't post a negative experience. Why did he PM Wake27 instead of posting it openly here? I mean he brought it up here publicly, why respond in private? You've had a number of positive responses in this thread as to why they like John Thomas's work. Why hide the negative? By all means, throw it out there and let everyone decide if it is legit or not. Don't snipe and then duck behind a PM.
You'd have to ask him. Perhaps he feels forum rules prevent him? How often do people bitch and moan, then a mod locks the thread until the OP contacts the company that they're griping about?
El Vaquero
05-21-20, 18:01
He did a cut, thread, and pin and weld. Very fast turn around. Good pricing, and most importantly...barrel accuracy did not suffer.
jppaul16438
05-21-20, 18:32
He did a good job on a couple projects I sent him.
Nephrology
05-21-20, 19:13
I dropped two Aero Precision complete uppers in the mail the other day for disassembly/inspection + gas block pin. Has been very prompt with comms so far. Looking forward to getting them back.
John has worked on a couple of uppers for me. He does great work and his turn around is extremely quick.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.