Stud welding apparatus

A stud welding apparatus having a collet for holding a stud with a flange and a shank at the tip of a welding gun, said collet comprising:

• a tubular first collet member secured to the tip of said welding gun, for elastically opening to a larger diameter than said flange to hold said flange at the tip;
• and a tubular second collet member secured to the tip of a piston rod that extends toward said first collet member from a cylinder provided in the aft portion of said welding gun, capable of insertion into said first collet member, for, by the movement of said piston, picking up, accommodating, and holding the shank of a stud fed with the flange to the fore into the interior of said first collet member, wherein:
• a collet cover is provided for enclosing the exterior of said first collet member from the tip of the welding gun;
• and a tip of said collet cover and a tip of said first collet member cooperatively form a flange edge carrying space shaped to accommodate and hold an edge of the stud flange and holding the stud shank in an attitude such that it floats free of an inner wall of said first collet member.