Greetings All,
As we are all eventually going to have to re-skin our Shamisens at some point, I wanted to share some pictures documenting a build of Kyle’s Shamisen Skinner that my friend Doug and I recently completed.
What do you think?
Let me know if anyone is interested in a build themselves.
Thats amazing, how long did it take you?
Wow, that’s awesome! If I wasn’t broke, I would definitely be interested in one to replace the half-assed glued skin on my shamisen =D
Looks really nice! How much did the material cost you?
Wow, that looks very professional!!
If you’d be up for it, perhaps you’d like to sell your stretching sets in the Bachido store? 
Every so often, people ask for it, but I don’t have time to make them. Your sets would be perfect!!
Kyle’s right ya know, depending on how much it cost (obviously), I would buy one!
These pictures are great and will be a lot of help.
I am wondering about using power tools to speed up the process and in particular making the clips and wedges so they are iterchangeable. It might be possible to use a router and patten to cut them. There are two ways to do this, one is to fix the pattern on top and use a long cutter with a smooth band at the top to bear on the pattern and the router on top. The second way, which might be better is to have the pattern bearing on a peg (the same diameter as the cutter) fixed to the router table and move the wood instead of the router. There are variations On these methods
Thank you for all the nice comments. I give all the credit to my friend Doug the engineering mastermind as well as Kyle for the guide.
Liam: We worked on the shamisen skinner build on and off over several months.
Karl: Accounting for all materials (i.e. wood, dowels, screws, rope, staining oil) came in around $130, but that is mostly because we used walnut, maple, and brass. Oak or other metal would likely have cut that price down some although wouldn’t look as nice or be quite as sturdy.
If we had a workshop to make operations for quick and efficient it would be great to make 5 and see if they would sell.
Kyle, do you know of any good resources in Japan for dog skin?
Wow. That’s certainly a pricey set! Indeed, for those on a budget, the whole thing can be made for about $30, more or less. That said, I have to admit that it looks really, really high class. Very well done.
A quick note: To make the second board (that rests on top of the board with the ropes) really strong, it can help to glue two pieces together, orienting them so the grain goes in opposite directions (which increases the strength). Using just one board is fine, but may warp later.
As for dog skin… I haven’t found any way to get it online. I researched it and found that it’s completely illegal to import into America. Goat skin, no problem. Dog skin, big problem. Why? Well, I guess dogs are just . . . cuter than goats? 
Anywho, I’ll stay out of that issue. Until that changes, the only way to get it is to go to a shamisen maker in Japan and convince him to sell you skin.
Congratulations! I finished mine some time ago but I did it all with hand tools accept the drill, took me almost 3 months. I just left mine natural. ^^
Because dogs are a human’s best friend… until it’s made into a Shamisen.
Very nice!
Dogs are a shamisen’s best friend too.
I was wondering while looking your skinning tool, might be interested on selling it?
