Well... My dou broke.

Building/Repair
#1

I got a new case this week and as I was trying to put the mitsuori parts together (as I’d already done before twice) so I could store my instrument away, three of the corners of the dou came apart.
Not sure how old my shamisen is but it 's anywhere from mid to late 20th century. I estimate maybe around 1958 based on a label I have a picture of (that I don’t know how to put it on here).
But I’m not 100% sure since I can’t read all of the kanji. It might also mention the shop it was made in. I reckon the glue weakened over time which is why it didn’t take much force to happen.

There seems to have been another label but it was ripped out. There’s also katakana written around the hole on the inside, too. I can read that but can’t see it all unless I take a picture with flash and wasn’t able to get a good angle until now.

All the parts are still in tact and a clean separation (no extra pieces of wood stuck to the old glue) but it’s an annoying thing to happen.

My problem is I’m not sure what type of glue I’ll need to use to put it back together. I have some strong super glue but it’s quick-setting and there isn’t that much of it to start off with. Also if I do it wrong there’ll be no way for me to fix it again.

I don’t think mochiko is used for it but I just wanna make sure if there are any specific glues the shami-makers on here have tried that worked? What technique should I use to make sure I don’t damage the rest of the body while repairing the corners?

Cheers for reading. Hope I can get this sorted and start playing soon.

#2

I’m sorry to hear about your dou! It shouldn’t be too hard to fix though.

As far as glue is concerned plain wood glue would work fine. Mochiko is used mainly for skins. DON’T use super glue. My personal favorite is titebond wood glue for repairing instruments, but I know some people also like to use hide glue. If you are worried about mess-ups, regular titebond is water soluble and can be cleaned off (but not titebond II or III which are water resistant,) and creates a joint stronger than the wood itself.

If your skin is still on, try to work the glue Into the crack with a thin putty knife. If your skin is off (which would be ideal) then it would be easier to get a good bond. Wrap some rope tight around the dou to hold the pieces together until it dries and wipe off the extra glue while its still wet with a moist towel so it doesn’t mess up the finish on your wood.

Anyways, good luck and try to post some pictures of your dou, someone here might be able to translate it for you.

#3

I was inclined to use super glue as well since that was the only glue I had any experience with but good people on this forum convinced me to give wood glue a try and I am impressed by the result as it seems to be ROCK SOLID :slight_smile:

around here they have one very common wood glue in stores in a regular and an express 5 minutes version I of course took the express version since I was not sure I could achieve a good fixation of the parts with the rope but that again was a surprise to see that with the parts having their well fitting together angled surfaces where they meet even without experience just wrapping a rope around the dou did indeed hold the parts in place for a good fixation so the glue could dry in a well fixated position and even though I surely did not achieve a “professional” amount of pressure with my single rope loop I let it dry one or two days and the result had a rock solid feel and look to it and that hasn’t changed after SOME playing I can say at least :slight_smile:

so I would use wood glue again and go for the simple regular version that takes longer to dry since it also allows you NOT having to hurry when applying the glue and when getting the parts fixtated in place actually and knowing all this now would not make me be afraid of having to do this again in the future even in case the dou would break sometime and I say that as someone not being fond of woodworking in general or having any serious experience with that :slight_smile:

I used little wood “spatulas” to apply the glue evenly and as you can see in the picture I was working alone and used strips of tape to keep the parts in vicinity to each other before applying the glue and moving the strips I fixated the parts enough for them to stay in place enough to wrap the rope around them . . . of course I created a whole mess of glue stains all over the dou nevertheless but that was just a result of a felt hurry cause I was using the express version of the glue and I was afraid it would dry fast already in the air so again I can only say that indeed a regular simple wood glue should work out fine for this . . .

http://freecarvers.com/sem/pics/dou.jpg

#4

of course a cup of bachido coffee was placed within the dou to heat dry the glue initially for a couple of minutes too . . .

#5

Ooh, sorry to hear about that, Laura. Unfortunately, that happens to a lot of shamisen. The glue just disintegrates. But as Cody says, it’s not too hard to repair. Titebond is my favorite wood glue too. Studies have shown that standard woodglue is stronger than any commercial glue (epoxy, Gorrila Glue, hide glue, etc). And the longer open assembly time is also very nice to have. No need to rush things.

I used little wood “spatulas” to apply the glue evenly and as

BH, didn’t you know that’s what the bachi is for! :stuck_out_tongue:

By the way, in the bottom-left picture of the magazine in the last picture you posted, is that Michael Jackson?

#6

Thanks for the advice, you guys. I did look up wood glue before and asked about for it a few months ago when the top of my erhu broke off but my local hardware store didn’t have any for some reason. Neither did any of the local crafts shops I know of. I guess I’ll have to order some in and get a tow rope or something to hold the parts together.
Then again, elastic string/cord (like the stuff used in Super Dollfies) might work. It’s easy for me to get a hold of some and I’m pretty sure it’ll stay together better with less material and won’t scratch the finish like regular rope might. Can only try. Might even end up cheaper!

#7

unlikely that that was michael jackson as I think it was some postal worker union newspaper I still get even though I did quit that job years ago . . . and as for ropes I recommend a boating supplies store they got all kinds and they know which ones are elastic and which are not about the ones they have (good especially with regard to getting a neo rope)

#8

Well, I got the gear from an online banjo store. Should get it set up next week if I can get this weird piece of thin wood out of the neck hole.
I can only hope that it’s been jammed in rather than glued as it would be a major barrier to re-gluing and skinning otherwise. I’ll need some pliers from the shed.

#9

Sorry to bump this up after so long but there’s an update. I finally have it done! Shoved some Titebond Wood Glue in the joints, wrapped and tied a dog leash/lead around it and left it to set. It took so long because i needed to try and get a piece of wood stuck in the neck out and it was only recently I was able to find pliers capable of doing the job. Plus my cat died so I wasn’t feeling too good about it for a while. Anyway, there’s a massive heat wave on at the moment so it’s the best weather for gluing everything. I’ve already got the flour for the rice glue so once all this gear’s set I’ll have a go at putting the synthetic banjo head on.

#10

Hi Laura, could you post a picture ?

#11

I took a couple of the way I tied the leash around it if that’s what you want me to take a picture of.

#12

Being myself a very bad handyman, I am very interested in the topics that show how people arrange or repair their shamisen. We always learn from others. Thanks

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