Mike, Princess Auto sells telescoping steel tubing in 48" lengths. More than
you want, but you can just order the stuff, and it will fit nicely (according to
their catalog). You want:

2" x 2" x 0.188" 16.4lbs 1480185 $29.99CAN
1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 0.100" 7.0lbs 1480177 $16.99CAN

These prices are in Canadian dollars. If you want to see this in their catalog,
you can download
http://www.princessauto.com/download...ile=01weld-can

or you can just go to princessauto.com and order the stuff.

GWE

DeepDiver wrote:
I'm in need of a small amount of telescopic square or rectangular steel
tubing (24" long outer piece and 24" long inner piece). The dimensional size
of the outer tubing is not critical, but I'm looking for something roughly
2" x 2" square. The inner piece must be able to fit entirely within the
outer piece, must slide freely, yet must not be a sloppy fit.

If I were to buy A500 series structural square steel tube:

- 2" x 2" x 11 GA (0.120" wall) x 24" long (for the outer piece)
- 1.75" x 1.75" x 24" long (for the inner piece)

would that work? Or will I have problems with interference from the welding
seam and surface finish inside the outer tubing?

I know there are manufacturers of hitch receiver tubing and other industrial
telescopic tubing, but I don't know of any supplier of small (and reasonably
priced) quantities of the stuff.

Thanks,
Michael