Ok.....I did some more pondering this morning and tried something that I wasn't sure if it would work or not. Well, it did, so I'm gonna share the process. I went and set my oven up to its maximum setting of 550 degrees and put the tube in and let it gradually heat up with the oven and let it stay at 550 degrees for about 10 minutes. I then took it out using the appropriate mitts (Ov-Glove! LOL!) and then used the top tube to whack at the weight inside the middle tube a couple of times over my stainless kitchen sink with a small amount of water in said sink to help cool the weight. It worked rather nicely and no damage to either tube! I then cooled the tubes down in the sink with more water. No chrome damage at all and now my top tube will collapse as low as it is supposed to, rather than be restricted by the weight.

So call this a helpful tip instead of what the thread started as if you buy an Atlas boom stand section for your straight stand by mistake and don't want to resell & reinvest in finding another tube without the weight. This sure worked better than my original thought of heating it up with a torch......no chrome discoloration this way! Excited

For you married guys....do this when your wife isn't home so she doesn't scream about her oven or her sink! LoLoLoLo

No damage was done to either, but you know how wives can be......;)

Ludwig-dude! I'm impressed! I would have never thought of that. I was going to say just use a smaller tube to smack against the weight until it dislodges. Guess that wouldn't have worked! Glad you shared your experience!

-Mark

I had tried that first and this one was still solidly attached. I thought about it and figured the heat would soften the adhesive enough that it should let go after a couple of whacks. It did. Cool Dude

Also likely the tube expanded resulting in a looser interference fit with the weight. I used this trick in reverse yesterday to install a press fit Chrysler harmonic damper. Works like a charm.