Plek ? for Tom

[GuitarNorton]

Tom I was wondering if you have ever thought of getting a Plek machine for leveling finishing frets. I know you have an excellent rep on fret work I don't mean anything negative. Guess they are proably expensive but once it payed for its self maybe it would be a plus.

[tom]

this is a tough question to answer without sounding snotty or critical. here goes. i think the plek can do wonders for a not so great neck. i am NOT implying that everyone who has one makes bad necks. it takes great skill to do a great "by hand" fret dressing. it is the longest learning curve job at our shop. we have piles of practice necks at the shop for learning. i believe that the process of making a neck as good as it can be in the wood and fret installation is the highest priority. when that is done the dressing process is simplified. there are also many detail parts of our fret job that the plek does not do. if we were trying to do lots more guitars, the investment might be worth it, but at our size the investment in people who stay around has worked. you all know i'm very fond of new machines, cnc, laser, uv cure paint, but this one doesn't fit in my plans at least for now.

[GuitarNorton]

Thanks knew you would proably have some interesting input. Makes sense:)

[pipedwho]

Interestingly, when I had my 8 year old Anderson plekked recently, the machine measured everything up and showed a very consistent neck dress. With the exception of fret wear, there was nothing else that the operator found out of the ordinary - after looking at the graphs, he asked me if it had been plekked before. :D

Just thought I'd share.

[GuitarNorton]

Interestingly, when I had my 8 year old Anderson plekked recently, the machine measured everything up and showed a very consistent neck dress. With the exception of fret wear, there was nothing else that the operator found out of the ordinary - after looking at the graphs, he asked me if it had been plekked before. :D

Just thought I'd share.

That says something doesn't it:)

[taclassic]

I own two non Anderson guitars that were pleked and do not even come close to any of the Anderson guitars I ever owned. Even the used Andersons have been in better shape than the pleked guitars I have.

[Stys]

Nothing beats the hands of an American Craftsman. Machines do not show pride in their work.

[tom]

no machine bashing here;) machines do wonderful things. finding the balance between skilled hands, great machines, and people who can use them is the challenge.

[pipedwho]

no machine bashing here;) machines do wonderful things. finding the balance between skilled hands, great machines, and people who can use them is the challenge.

Absolutely. From watching the plekking process in action, it is obvious that the outcome is heavily dependant on the skill of the operator. What the plek machine is doing, is giving a skilled technician a very powerful tool to work with.

[BoraBora]

I got Andersons that Bruce did the fret work on and they are just as good, if not better than another guitar that I have that has been Pleked. :D