Retro Arms Works

[Korgs130]

I’m another very satisfied customer. Can’t say enough good things about my experience with John.

[alx01]

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.

[VLODPG]

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]

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.

[Caduceus]

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.

[ABNAK]

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]

Another positive vote here. He cut down, threaded, and pinned my LMT MWS barrel. Quick turnaround too.

[MSW]

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.

[alx01]

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.

[Caduceus]

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?