Weld it.
The most difficult tube to fit is one that is cut perfectly square. First
level your drum whichever way you like. Next check your tube end and find
the longest corner. Stand your tube vertically and tack weld the long
corner to the drum. The tack should be about an eight of an inch long.
You can now hinge the tube to vertical with a nudge or two. Take some of
your electrode stub ends and hammer a tapered flat on one end using an anvil
or heavy piece of plate. Use one or more as a wedge to slide under the
opposite corner of your tack to hold your tube vertical. You can now put a
second tack between your tube and drum base. Check with your square that it
is still vertical.
Don't bother taking your little wedges out until you have some decent weld
on the joint. Most of the time you just wiggle and snap the projecting end
off leaving the remainder in the gap.
Don't weld all the way around your tube unless you want to make it
permanent. If you weld two opposite sides then all you need to do to take
it apart is to grind one weld out with an angle grinder and hit it with a
sledge. The ground out weld will snap and hinge on the opposite weld
breaking away
Randy

"carl mciver" wrote in message
link.net...
snip
Getting the thing square has been a pain. My driveway and garage floor
aren't level, and trying to pull the stanchion over with weld (because I
forgot to make sure the bottom end of the tubing was perfectly square
before
welding it in place) made me settle for "good enough." I had rod stubs
under the drum flange trying to make that at least level, but it wasn't
that
accurate. Warning to those about to make the same mistake welding tubing:
Make sure the stuff is square first!