How to shave off 2mm from cleat screws

[elcolombiano]

I bought new shoes Giro Prolight shoes. I started mounting the Campagnolo cleats on and the screws that come with the pedals are to short. The 12.5mm screws that come with the Campy pedals are to long. I need the screws to be about 10mm long. I read you can take a metal file and file the screws. I don't have a good vice. How to I hold the screws in order to file off a couple of mm?

Also on a ride yesterday on my old shoes I lost a cleat screw and washer. Fortunately i have a spare. If I loose another one or two in the future is there a more cost effective solution than buying the Campy cleat screw "kit" that costs $30?

[kramnnim]

Hold them with a Visegrip plier? Or...thread one in to something like a fender eyelet with the end pointing out. Or use a Dremel. Blue loctite will keep you from losing them in the future...

[Admiral Ackbar]

id check your local lbs, they might not have campag cleat screws but they may have something shorter that will work.

[chismog]

I don't know the screw, but it's gotta be easiest to find a shorter version at a machine shop or Specialty Tool or something.

Barring that, find a nut with the same threads, screw it on there, and put it in a vise. It will be much easier and more secure to clamp the nut than the bolt, and less risk of dorking up the bolt head.

[Veloo]

I just posted a couple days ago too.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=152847

If you can find a metric wire stripper with an M5 bolt cutter then you're set.

What I did was
get some M5 nuts,
Put the cleat washer onto the screw
thread one onto the cleat screw
Use an appropriate sized wrench to support the screw with nut
Use a dremel with stone grinder bit to shave the screw down
Back off the nut to help reform any messed up threads.

Worked out for me

[ultraman6970]

Put a nut in the screw and use a file (or a dremel) to get the 2 mm off the screw, remove the nut, the nut will save the threading, the idea is to save the threading in the screw.

Good luck.

[Veloo]

If you can find one of these...

[Scooper]

Put a nut in the screw and use a file (or a dremel) to get the 2 mm off the screw, remove the nut, the nut will save the threading, the idea is to save the threading in the screw.

Good luck.

This. Use the carbide cutting wheel on the Dremel arbor.

[druptight]

Or if all else fails, clamp the file to your bench and run the screw across the file, instead of holding the screw and trying to run the file across it. Less likely to destroy your knuckles/fingertips.

I'd just use a dremel though.

[Bstone]

Grinder