Thanks for the info guys. Since I dont care about the finish I went ahead and tried it with the claw end of the hammer. To my surprise the studs came out very easily. I was actually kinda bummed about this because it makes me think that this wasn't helping the guitars tone and sustain if the studs were just floating in the wholes. Oh well. The job has been taken care off and it's time to start taking the old finish off. My first refin,wish me luck.
Thanks again
Bill