It almost sounds like you are cutting at the inside between the steel plate and the coils, instead of outside where the "elbows" (they look like elbow macaroni after they are cut off) are located. I cut them off using a sawzall at the outside of the steel plate where they are located, then when all of them are cut off I pull the steel plate off of the rest of the coils. I have removed the elbows from about 50 CU/AL coils, and have yet to have a problem.
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