Steering column looseness

What is the collective wisdom on how to fix a steering column (74 midge)
that has some looseness in the lowest collapse point.  Without any movement
at the pinion, I've got ~1/2 inch of radial free play in the steering wheel.
I believe this to be a result of a long ago front ender by the PO.  I've
localized the wiggle to the lowest collapse point.  Since welding it solid
would lead to my chest being the collapse point, I'm searching for a fix
that would leave it functional.
TIA
Mike Gagne