[78-L] Wood Filler In A Cracked 78?

[Malcolm - Venerable Music]

Hey Everyone - Yesterday I was lucky enough to junk a copy of a rare hillbilly record, Winona Rag by the Ray Brothers on Bluebird-5789.
Unfortunately there is a crack to the label which you can see light through! It was only $1 and a rare enough record that I'm highly unlikely to see another copy anytime soon so I bought it anyway.

In the past, I have seen some records that were in similar condition repaired very well, namely by the late collector Robert Nobley. I never got the chance to talk to him about his method in person, but a friend explained his method to me as it was explained to him. Apparently he would some sort of wood filler to the crack that was soft when applied. He would then play the sides on a Victrola so the steel needle would remove the extra filler in the direction of the grooves. After this, he would let the filler harden and sand the remaining filler to be even with the grooves. The result on the records I've heard was great, turning a heavy thump to a light tick.

Has anyone else ever used a similar method or can recommend the correct type of wood filler to use? I have a similarly cracked Jimmie Rodgers record that I've been holding on to just for practice. But now I have a record that I really don't want to make worse than it is!

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Malcolm

Venerable Music - http://www.venerablemusic.com/
78rpm Auctions - http://www.vmauctions.com/
Venerable Radio - http://www.venerablemusic.com/samphpweb/index.html
On Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/venerablemusic