linking tables with unmatched fields

[tachia]

I am comparing data from two tables and wanted to create
a field in one table that will only search by the first 6
or 8 characters, because we have some records that are
spelled differently between the two tables. For example,
table1 may say ABC Company and table2 may say ABC Co.

Please let me know how I can create a new col. with just
the first few characters and compare to the other table.

Thanks!