"PLEK" machine--does it place frets too?

[bluwoodsman]

Curious if anyone knows if the PLEK process places the frets in the board or if that part of the building process is done by hand. And if that is any different on an ebony board....prompted by reading something from Ed Roman....who said you cannot use a machine to place frets into an ebony board, it has to be done by hand...

Thnks....

[brianr0131]

Plek machines do not place frets

[guitar_ed]

Hi BWM,

You have to be careful reading Ed Roman, and taking what he says at face value. I don't want to start anything again, or waste space, so I won't go into it. But if you want to know why I say this, drop me a PM.

To address your question a bit more completely, all the PLEK machine does is finish and dress the frets, after they are placed in the neck/fretboard. And it does a wonderful job of it, too, I might add.

Take care,

edg

[Craig]

Curious if anyone knows if the PLEK process places the frets in the board or if that part of the building process is done by hand. And if that is any different on an ebony board....prompted by reading something from Ed Roman....who said you cannot use a machine to place frets into an ebony board, it has to be done by hand...

Thnks....

As others have mentioned, the frets are pressed into the fretboad by hand using a fret press.
If you want to learn more about the Plek machine and it's use at the G&L factory, see this post: What is G&L's Plek machine used for?.

Hope this helps.