Gas shielded arc torch and collet assembly

A gas shielding arc torch comprising a torch head surrounding a collet assembly including a collet body and a collet for gripping and positioning an electrode within said torch head and a removable torch cap for locking said collet within said collet body wherein said collet body has a bore within which said collet is disposed, a forward end having in cross section tapered surfaces forming a first vee with an included angle of between 30-75 degrees for engaging one end of said collet and a rearward end for engaging said torch cap, with said torch cap having in cross section tapered surfaces which form a second vee for engaging the opposite end of said collet, said second vee being disposed opposite to said first vee to form the mirror image thereof and having an included angle substantially larger than the included angle formed by said first vee and wherein said collet is a cylindrical hollow tube having squared off ends with one squared off end engaging the first vee and with the other squared off end engaging the second vee and having at least two slots extending from one of said squared off ends with the slotted end adapted to be positioned adjacent the forward end of said collet body.