URGENT: I broke the neck of my shamisen. What do I do?

Building/Repair
#1

So I was getting ready to practice for the day, starting with having to tune my shamisen as the winter is wrecking havok on my tunings. Of course everything was horribly out of tune and the pegs were very loose, so I placed the neck on my leg (worst decision ever) and began to push the pegs in so they’d be tighter. That’s when the neck just snapped at the 1st connection (I have a three piece neck shamisen. The beginner’s shamisen precisely). It appears that one of the little connecting pegs had snapped off entirely, and the wood that leads up to the head of the neck has been split and broken off.

Here’s an imgur album of the damage. http://imgur.com/a/Fwi6f

#2

I forgot to add this, but, as the title states: How should I go about fixing this? I live in Buffalo NY, United states as well, so will I need to send something in? Or perhaps there’s a home fix or there is some way to just get a replacement for that particular section of the shamisen?

#3

I don’t think that it would be too too difficult to fix, if you have some experience with wood working and some basic tools. I don’t think it would work to just glue the pin back as it wouldn’t be strong enough, but I can imagine remaking the pin but twice as long and cut into the neck the extra length and then imbed/glue it in there. On the other hand, maybe you could drill a hole to fit a thin support rod of brass or something into the pin end and the neck end and then glue it. That might work.

I do believe that Kyle Abbot is doing repairs and he is a really great craftsperson. I think that I could fix it as well, but I live in Thailand, which is pretty far away, about as far away as one could get from Buffalo!

But yeah, I’d get in touch with Kyle however you want to go with getting it fixed and see what he thinks. To what I can see, it seems well fixable. Good luck! :slight_smile:

#4

Hi Tino,

Aw snap! (No pun intended) Sorry to see that. :frowning: Too late to say now, but when you’re pushing the pegs in with extra force, it’s good to support the tenjin with the other hand in the back to alleviate stress on the neck.

Whew, that is some gnarly breakage. Fortunately, it could be repaired quite simply. The only thing is, if you wanted full strength, I would glue it all together as one piece. (regluing the pin This would mean the shamisen couldn’t be separated from that joint. Would you have wishes to separate it in three pieces? (For travel and such)

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