This mast is smooth all the way, no cams, locks, etc. The tubes must
be "slightly" tapered such that as you pull one out of the other it locks
in place by sheer friction.

I have tried heat on the outer, cooling the inner tube and
considerable twist/pushing force with my hands to get the stuck sections
to unlock, all to no avail.

Yesterday I resorted to applying some Teflon Lubricant ( Tri-Flo) to a
stuck joint but it would still not budge. Maybe today when I go out to
the garage the lubricant may have seeped its way down in to the
junction.... will try again....


Hate to toss the thing as junk, but its not looking very positive so
far. It was a cheap "flag / banner" type import so at least I won't be
out as much as a quality unit would have cost me.


Ed K7AAT