scrapping a welder-any advice?

Hi to all, I got hold of an old tig welder and broke it down to sub-assemblys to get it home.It didnt work right even after trying to be repaired.Inside was 6 large coils all interconnected with heavy copper straps.Has anyone ever broke down coils like this before? This morning I finished stripping a pile of extension cords(about 800')I got at an auction.I dont think much of them anymore.I used the drywall screw in a block for the casings and for the wires instaed of a screw I cut a slot above the hole to insert a razor knife.This worked really well,just holding the knife as I pulled the wire through.I know there must be a 100 diffrent ways to strip wire,just thought I would mention it.Thanks in advance for any tips on the coils.

Scratch them and make sure they are indeed copper. Last buzzbox I had I paid 50 for cuz I thought the transformer was copper and it was huggge. Turned out to be aluminum.

I was wrong about the type of welder, it says a/c d/c 300amp arc on the front and the coils are constructed out of very heavy copper, the strands are 1/4" square and joined in twos then wrapped around the steel with smaller windings on the inside.

AC/DC welder should have 4 large heavy duty diodes, two will have a negative pigtail while the other pair will have positive, you could sell these to a hobbyist who is doing a DIY windmill project.

how do you cut the slot for the razor?

A hacksaw cuts a nice thin slot and if the hole is in the right spot the knife will just reach the wire.

This machine was set up with 3 diodes on a rail then 2 on another rail and then a single on a rail. I had to get help to get the 3 diode rail out of my truck it wiegh 150 lbs. i got the others apart this evening by removing the top plate on the diode and then beating the windings off.Now I just got to figure out the best way to get the windings undone.

Originally Posted by pwa

This machine was set up with 3 diodes on a rail then 2 on another rail and then a single on a rail. I had to get help to get the 3 diode rail out of my truck it wiegh 150 lbs. i got the others apart this evening by removing the top plate on the diode and then beating the windings off.Now I just got to figure out the best way to get the windings undone.

You must have a 3 phase welder.

i hope you're taking photos ; )

yea I'm sure it was 3 phase, now its in the teardown phase. I'll get some pics of the diodes since thats about all thats left.I'll have to get some help sometime to post them because this is about the all I can do with a computer unless taking a hammer to it counts.

found out today the big copper coils are transformers,sorry I should have tried to google a diagram or something so people would know what I'm talking about.Oh yea when unwinding an extension cord use a drill to make it easy.I got the tip from the forum and it works really good.