Square tubing tolerances and adjusting them to match

You are seeing a pretty standard set of tolerances for square tubing. In order to make this work on a consistent basis, you need to have a large gap (2" tube in 2-1/2"x.187 wall) or buy the special telescoping tube (Telespar??) that is produced to work properly in your application.

When you buy tube in mill quantities (20,000 pounds and up) you can usually specify better control of the squareness, weld flash, and corner radius. When you buy from the distributor, you get what you get.

Your first post menti> I managed to remove the better part of the weld bead inside a piece of 2

My low tech approach would be to put one of the less than 90 degree corners against the concrete floor and hit the other with a dead blow mallet. Maybe after your shoulder is better.

Dan

"RoyJ" wrote in message news:gocfe.10444$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net... | You are seeing a pretty standard set of tolerances for square tubing. In | order to make this work on a consistent basis, you need to have a large | gap (2" tube in 2-1/2"x.187 wall) or buy the special telescoping tube | (Telespar??) that is produced to work properly in your application. | | When you buy tube in mill quantities (20,000 pounds and up) you can | usually specify better control of the squareness, weld flash, and corner | radius. When you buy from the distributor, you get what you get. | | Your first post mentioned that these were short pieces. How about a | hardened steel block with the proper edges and corners, use the press to | just push it though? That will fix the corners, iron down the flash, etc.

I figured as much, so the idea of a "shaping broach" is starting to look attractive. I think I can make it from the two inch tubing and weld some fillers in a few places to make it stiff, with maybe some carefully placed welds on the outside. Put it on some 1 1/2" tubing and weld it in place. Using the right size piece as a driver and wail away. In order to make this work, I have to go do this funky thing here. In order to do that, I need to repair that tool and adjust it. To use that tool, I need to go get some of this nasty stuff. In order to get some of that stuff, I need to have some widgets. To get widgets I have to filangle a bit on the borders of the doodlewhopper. Fresh out of filanglers, though, and the store that had some just sold out to Lowe's and doesn't carry that anymore. I can make do with some gadget wanders, but the edges are all rusty and need to get replaced. Lessee what ebay has. Oh, crap, I forgot my user ID and password! After I get my user ID and password I will need my credit card for Paypal, but I left it in my favorite pair of pants, which is at the home of the girlfriend I just broke up with. In order to get the pants, I need to make up with her. In order to make up with her, I need some roses, and the nearest store that's open on a Saturday night is six miles away and I've got a slow leak in the truck tire. In order to take the truck I have to air up the tire. This could take awhile, because the compressor's all out of air. Now you can see why I gotta air up the tire on the truck before I can build the shaping broach! :)