How does one tighten the steering wheel on a Craftsman riding mower?

If there's too much play you probably need to replace the gears. They seem to be made of cheap material to fail.

To answer your question, you should be able to remove the cover on the steering wheel and see a nut that you could tighted acridcola is right that if you are getting play in it the pinion and sector gears are getting worn. Craftsman are known for this problem.

Yes they are correct. Go to sears.com and enter your model number and you can order your parts.