he means the internal pullstart knob. yes thats fine ive done it plenty of times. DONT cut it, grind it off
cutting it will cause intense uneven heat and burring gently grind it continually dipping it water or oil to cool it off. then fille the end nicely, a little too short and a lil crank movement is better than too long and jamming the engine ( i mean 1/4 mm here) so take it easy.

Dann