Inlaying MOP into a Fretboard

Shoot me down in flames if you think that this is a bad idea but; after years of either hand carving or routing out finger board veneers to inlay MOP, wouldnt it be a lot easier to just fret out the shape of the inlays then replace the removed section of wood, the thickness of the MOP inlay thinner, to create a rebate to accommodate it? Its always a pain to clean up sharp corners and other fine detail when working into a recess, a small file could pass all the way through the timber and make things so much simpler. The veneer is glued to the rest of the fretboard so the replaced section will never be seen and the wood is as strong as ever.