Just got my hands on a great deal of an older shamisen. The dou however needs to be reskinned.
Whats the best way to clean the top and bottom of the Dou where the skin once was glued on? and treat it for the next adhesive.
Hi Terry,
Congrats on getting a shamisen! 
The way most all skinners do it is,
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Tie a cord tightly around the dou, to prevent the pieces from coming apart (which is a common occurrence of older shamisen.
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Wet the top and bottom to dissolve the old glue/skin. Scrape it all off.
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Use a medium course file to lightly shave the surfaces back down to fresh wood (only shave off a tiny bit, just to ensure all the glue is removed and the surfaces are slightly rough)
Then, it should be ready for new skin!
Good luck!
I used animal hide glue on the last few instruments I made. What is a good recipe for the flour glue? and don’t you have to mix something in the flour? where do I get it if so?
The rice glue formula was 1:1 (sticky rice flour / water) and slowly heat it over the stove, mixing it until it gets stiff, sticky and difficult to stir. (not completely dry though) Then, it’s ready to go!
Hi Terry. What skin did you use and where did you get it?