Damaged NST

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: The MCP <ejkeever-at-comcast-dot-net> 

I finally made a stupid mistake, and it may just cost my my NST. While
trying out a new platform for the coil, I got the outer edge of the
copper tube too close to the NST. I turned on the coil, and took far too
long to realize what the buzzing sound was.

So now I've got an NST with a broken secondary. The goddarn primary coil
in the tesla coil burnt a hole right through the outer insolation, and
generated a nice cloud of smoke. When I turned the coil on for a
fraction of a second I could see bright arcing inside the paper winding.

This transformer was bought off E-Bay, and I think it's seen quite a bit
of use. It's a 5000/20. There is no casing or anything; Just two coils
of wire and a few pounds of iron around them.

So what can I do, besides buy a new transformer (Or should I use this as
an excuse to get a bigger transformer?)? Can I simply put it in the oven
for a time and try to melt/dielectrically repair the insulation
material? Tear open the paper casing of the secondary and try to fix the
problem that way?

God, what an idiot I was!