some may say plug it, some may say putty.

I'd use putty, but take a two component putty. and i'd use my special trick. That is: I push two or three needles (cut in half) in the middle ply, so that the're parallel with the ply. They will extra secure the putt from falling out the hole in the future.

Other option could be wood glue with saw shavings.

Not sure if you wanted to plug the hole and fix the tear, or just fix the tear. Good advice on the wood glue with shavings. Also, from my guitar and bass repair side, I have had good luck making a thickish slurry out of CA (superglue) and rosewood or maple sawDUST to repair dings and gouges in guitar and bass necks. Let it set, sand it, and its hard to see that it was repaired afterwards.

Thank you for the tips, everyone. Yes, I want to just fix the tear and salvage the hole for the lug.

After all is repaired, use a -large- metal washer behind the lug. Wood glue and shavings is best...

John

Here is another way to go. Bit more tedious but mends missing ply with replacement ply. Not a thing wrong with putty or sawdust other than potential for shrinkage and would need to be sanded flush. To paint what ever patch method you choose Testors model paint has a few silvers that one should work well.

Creighton

WOW! Amazing work (which would take much more skill that I possess at present). Thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

Not hard just gotta go slow. Sharp blade to the make cuts. Trim oversize and make final cuts as needed. Biggest plus is true wood grain on the patch. Not a flat spot.

Creighton