Best way to Dremel cleats out of shoes.

Old cleats are stuck fast,

Tried heating up the cleat and using a torx bit to no avail, so its dremel time.

What’s the best way? Cut a slot into the top of the cleat bolts, hopefully relieving a bit of tension and then use a screwdriver to get them out?

I would try drilling them out.

I guess they are countersunk heads so drill with a drill about the same size as the thread (probably m5). Go steady and you should break through the head. The remaining thread should be easy to get out.

Yes cut a slot, it worked for me
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I had this once. Drilled them out with a drill in reverse and a left hand fluted drill bit.

I have this with my old MT-90 boots and cleats. Don’t you just end up with the cleats free but the bolts still in place in a seized thread inside the boots? apologies for being dim if that’s not the case..

I would try drilling them out.

4mm bit, the work of but a moment…

Don’t you just end up with the cleats free but the bolts still in place in a seized thread inside the boots?

Nope, the inner bit is replacable. You will need to find a Shimano a100 cleat nut and replace the lot.

I bought a damaged screw remover from Screwfix.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/trend-pro-grabit-screw-and-bolt-remover-2-pieces/21391?_requestid=266839

Used it on two sets of time shoe plates, a friend’s thomson stem bolt and the rusted screw holding my oven element. Never failed me yet!

I just cut slots and use a flatblade screwdriver.

Drill on a low speed and put some oil (any oil – 3in1, olive) in the hole to keep things cool. Don’t be tempted to razz the crap out of it. And when you put the new cleats in a dab of grease on the threads and every six months or so give em a quick turn to break any thread binding that might’ve built up. I also find that drilling out crap with a small bit (think dentists) prior to putting the hex key in helps it seat better and deeper and therefore reduces the risk of rounding it.

Did this last week. Drilled the screw heads off with a 13mm drill bit, it left about 5mm of the screw exposed which were unscrewed with a pair of pliers. 10 mins, job done.

I tried a dremel, but it struggled with the pig-iron that the cleats are made from. Angle grinder with a 1mm cutting disc though…..

I cut the cleats through enough to break them up, then lopped off the bolt head and replaced the bits inside the shoe as well. If they’re rusted solid, then the bits in the shoes will be a mess anyway and the next cleats will go the same way. Wouldn’t bother trying to get the screws out, just replace everything.

Managed to get the cleats off, drilling worked better than dremelling, but it looks like there is no way to replace the metal cleat bed inside the shoe. Quite bloody annoying really.

Heed what scuttler says about not overheating them. Melted a midsole once doing that. On my GF’s shoes to compound the failure.

mmm the dremel ,amazing what marketing can do for a totally shit tool.

get the drill out.

Regular squirts of WD40 and pulsing the drill prevents overspeeding, blunts in the drill and overheating. If you use a larger drill like I did the drill speed is quite slow.

Should be a flap in the inside of the shoe to access the cleat nut. Usually the cleat nut is a replacable item. The flap might be under a waterproof sticker.

mmm the dremel ,amazing what marketing can do for a totally shit tool.

You wouldn’t have rims on your bike, or windows on your house without them, at least not aluminium rims or double glazed windows anyway…

hows that then ?

dremel does not = a die grinder.

Ah, I learned the trade abroad where the only word is ‘mola’, a bit of googling would confirm that dremels look a bit shit. As you were….

When small bolts like that are stuck the way to free them is to support the piece on something solid then tap the bolt very sharply with a hammer and punch, which breaks the bond on the thread. Too late for you though.

Most people have got a few of the slotted sole plates knocking around in their box of bits; they seem to breed.

Back to the OP I’ve never not been able to remove cleats from shoes by simply digging the crud out the bolt head with a 2mm allen key and adding GT85

Its not necessarily the threads that are siezed – when I drilled off the bolt heads the remaining threaded parts unscrewed easily with a pair of pliers – it was the contact area under the countersunk screw head that was the problem. The threads were clean and un-seized – though I do put a small blob of coppaslip on them when replacing so that probably helps.

I’ve always found that one of these does the job.

Should be a flap in the inside of the shoe to access the cleat nut. Usually the cleat nut is a replacable item. The flap might be under a waterproof sticker.

Yeah “should be”

These are Diadora shoes, after you remove the insole there is a second stiff fibrous insole glued into the shoe, I can’t see anyway to get to the cleat plates out without hacking away at this second insole

It makes for a very neat and durable sole bed but if you mangle the threads in the cleat plate there is no way to replace it.

Time for new shoes, they were more than 5 years old so I can’t really complain

trail_rat – Member

mmm the dremel ,amazing what marketing can do for a totally shit tool.

Just not the right tool for this particular job. I bought one a few years ago for a specific job, as they were going cheap in B&Q (think I paid £40 for mine).
I use it all the time now for loads of small jobs.

Anyway, I was going to suggest the OP sprayed some plusgas into the back of the threads, from inside the shoe but if the insole is glued in that probably isn’t going to be possible.

Have you tried turning the bolts the other way a little bit, not too hard so the bolt breaks. Just enough to crack the corrosion a little and allow it to be undone.

Have you tried turning the bolts the other way a little bit, not too hard so the bolt breaks. Just enough to crack the corrosion a little and allow it to be undone.

I’m past that, the cleats are out but the plate that cleats screw into is a bit mangled and I’ve no way to replace them

I’ve always found that one of these does the job.

Yep . . . But not the Silverline one as it will be made of Cheese.

As for Dremels and their clones, they do have a place in the tool box, but always as a last resort. Last time I used mine was to trim a circuit board – about a year ago.

As for cleats, drill as suggested and then get the Vise grips on the studs.
Hth
Marko

I’ve done as per Onzadog – reverse thread screw extractor drill bit. I nearly broke my wrist when it engaged, but other than that full success!

Dremel is my secon try, use the cutting wheel to cut a slot, then use a ratchet wrench with a flat head attachement to get them out. I find this the best as you can apply a lot of downward force while turning the wrench.

If that doesn’t work yes, drill off the countersunk head and use mole grips to get rid of the rest of the bolt.

Clean the threads by running a tap through if you can, I’ve recently had to chuck a pair of old Diadoras as the thread in the plates had given up.