Aaaaaaa!! My NST is toast! Salvage tips?

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

Original poster: "Stephen Conner by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <steve-at-scopeboy-dot-com>

HI guys, I'm sure you've been here before and I wonder if you could give me 
some advice... My NST just died. One of the legs is shorting to ground. I 
suppose this is what I get for using a resonant cap instead of LTR!

I removed the steel case but it made no difference, which suggests that 
it's shorting to the core. I tested to see if I could melt the potting 
compound, but it burns instead of melting. It is a very hard brittle amber 
substance so I guess it must be some kind of thermosetting resin, not tar. 
So that rules out the oven trick.

My plan is to carefully chisel the resin off and see if I can find where 
it's arcing. If I accidentally trash the windings while chiselling (more 
than likely) plan 'B' is to just set fire to the whole lot in a trash can 
in the yard. That way I should be able to salvage the core and I can try 
winding my own transformer. I know it's easier to just get another NST, or 
a couple of MOTs, but I fancy the challenge.

Is this going to work? Does anyone know a better way? Can I salvage the 
core like that or will the heat from the fire mess up its magnetic 
properties? Your $.02 would be much appreciated. Merry Christmas!

Steve C.