Insulate a copper wire in home condition

Question

I know I could buy magnet wire but unfortunately, the availability of magnet wire in my area is close to non-existent.

I'm looking to make 2 transformer coils one of 60 turns AWG10 (5 metre) and one of 10 turns (2 parallel wire AWG10 around 2 metre).

As a test, I made a small electromagnet out of AWG10 as insulation, I used electrical tape to prevent any short, each layer is covered with tape and each turn has some space which prevent wires to touch themselves on the same layer.

This seems to be good enough for a low power electromagnet but I'm wondering if there is a better way to insulate a cooper wire at home considering a lot of current is going to flow in the transformer I'm looking to make.

Answer 1

The way to have insulated copper wires for magnets is to buy magnet wire. This is insulated with a thin but tough layer of varnish-like insulation. Often it's copper-coloured, and it's easy to think the wire is bare, unless you've met it before.

There is no practical way to try to replicate this with bare wire and household materials like insulation tape (too bulky) or paint or varnish (you'll never get a well-adhered tough even film).

If you don't need much, then unwinding an old transformer (motors less so) can provide a useful source. However, the kinks in the wire from first use can make it impossible to wind neatly, and the insulation film, though tough for a film, is still fragile enough to be damaged by rough handling, so this second-hand wire source is definitely second best.