Patent ID: 8381462

Claim:
A mechanism for adjusting the length of a support column, comprising: a) an elongated pipe; b) a cap plate affixed onto a top end of said elongated pipe, said cap plate having a plurality of mounting holes; and c) a base assembly retained to a bottom end of said elongated pipe after a lower portion of said elongated pipe is cut away, thereby to properly size the length of said elongated pipe; wherein said base assembly comprises: a) a base plate having a central aperture and a plurality of mounting holes; b) a spacer ring attached to the base plate and being concentrically positioned over said central aperture; c) an expandable chuck sleeve having a plurality of upper vertical slots thereabout and attached to said base plate over said spacer ring; d) a disc member having a central aperture, wherein said disc member is recessed within a bottom of and attached to said expandable chuck sleeve; e) a frusto-conical plug having a central threaded hole therethrough, wherein said frusto-conical plug sits upon a top end of said expandable chuck sleeve; and f) a machine bolt; wherein said spacer ring and said disc member are positioned within said expandable chuck sleeve, and wherein said machine bolt extends through said central aperture in said base plate, passes said spacer ring, goes through said central aperture in said disc member and is threaded into said central threaded hole in said frusto-conical plug, so that when said machine bolt is tightened said frusto-conical plug will be pulled down to cause said expandable chuck sleeve to open and bear against an inner wall of said elongated pipe.