yes wood putty or you could sand it out but you'll have to level the entire bearing edge, or just wood putty fill it and smooth sand it you'll be good to go!

Not arguing, but curious ... wouldn't the putty break down due to the pressure and vibrations? It seems that a harder substance would be needed in that location.

Actually no, Now I'm sure some brands are better than other, but Mine have held up very well doing this method.

Which brand do you use vintagemoore? Thanks all for your help.. now to strip this spraypaint off... any suggestions? maybe we can merge this thread with the other

For wood filler, I've used epoxy-based wood fillers like PC Woody.

To strip spray paint, Citristrip Stripping Gel works well.

Both are available at home improvement stores like Lowe's.

I use ordinary 2 part epoxy that is easy to come by at any hardware store. They have many varieties, each with a different set time. It doesn't really matter which one you get for this kind of repair. I prefer the slow set variety. It hardens like stone. Then file it down, then sand it to the required edge contour. I have fixed gashes like that with epoxy and used my router to recut the entire bearing edge. A router won't chip it out, it is good stuff. Once I mixed wood shavings into the epoxy and used that to give it a woody appearance. But no one is going to see it anyway under a drum head, so I wouldn't bother with adding wood sandings or shavings.

Skydog75 is bang on with his suggestion because it is a two part epoxy with wood particles added. If you can afford a can, go for it. But I would just get a new package of epoxy with the 2 different tubes, one resin, one hardener and have at it.

bondo, two part, dries fast and hard as a rock.

Okay, this might sound weird, but...

A few years ago I came across a rack tom in that condition. Like mcjnic, I was concerned about the repair getting loose in later years from the tension and vibration. So I drilled two or three tiny holes in the ply (into the ply, top down) and inserted toothpicks held in with wood glue. After they dried, I did the epoxy thing mixed with sawdust (the sawdust is strictly for aesthetics). After it was dry / hardened I sanded the whole thing down after clipping off the tops of the toothpicks. I played the kit for some time before I sold it to a friend. It's still being played and holding fine.

There's my :2Cents:

thanks all for your help!