Dou Peg Broken on Gottan

Building/Repair
#1

Good day,
I was restringing my gottan and upon removing the strings, realized the peg on the dou was broken. Is there anyone out there who can assist me in repair? I am in Minnesota and an internet search for shamisen repair or gottan repair turned up nothing.
Thank you in advance.

#2

Hi Linda!

First off, though we’re been communicating via email, let me be the first to say welcome to the Bachido forum! :slight_smile:

Oh snap! (no pun intended) Would it be possible for you to show us a picture of the broken peg? Pegs are quite easy to have remade by regular luthiers, and that particular one could be repaired if broken in the right spot. With a picture, I could identify the kind of repair needed in a jiffy.

Cheers! :slight_smile:
Kyle

#3

Yes, Oh, Snap is right! I was NOT happy when I found this. Here is hoping it can be fixed. I have included pictures.


#4

And thank you for the welcome to the forum! It seems like a nice place to get to know my fellow shamisen enthusiasts.

#5

Ah~ I see. Though some skills are needed, this would actually be quite easy to replace.

  1. Basically, I would first remove the neck and flatly saw the broken end off (maybe 1/2") so it’s clean.

  2. I’d take a dowel, about the length of the broken piece + 1/2" (or maybe a wee bit more).

  3. Drill a pilot hole into the dowel and then another pilot hole into the neck end of the peg.

  4. Insert a double threaded screw (the kind which is threaded on both ends) into the dowel.

  5. Spread some Titebond III woodglue on the screwed dowel.

  6. Twist the other end of the screw into the peg end (which has been pre-drilled to prevent splitting) until the dowel tightly presses against the peg, causing the glue to squeeze out.

  7. Allow 24 hours drying time, and it should be stronger than it originally was! :slight_smile:

  8. Taper/shape the dowel so it is the same as the end of the peg was, and so will fit into the hole of the dou.

  9. Stick a fork in it, because it’s done! :slight_smile:

I think it would take an hour or less to do that (not counting drying time). A luthier would easily be able to fix it, I believe.

#6

I’m fixing up a chuko nagauta shamisen. Looking at the nakagosaki (the peg), I noticed something that reminded me of this thread.

I suspect that this was also broken, so they replaced the end in the same way as I suggested (though maybe didn’t use a double threaded screw)

Anywho, I thought that was interesting. That is all! :slight_smile:

© 2020 Kyle Abbott