Patent ID: 7669308

Claim:
A method of assembling a collet and lock nut assembly comprising a collet including a plurality of gripping fingers having a radial dimension, the collet having a nose portion and a body portion separated by an annular groove, and a lock nut having a concentric bore with a plurality of retention tabs having a radial dimension and a corresponding number of clear portions, the method comprising the steps of: inserting the collet partially into the lock nut such that at least one retention tab of the lock nut is received within the groove of the collet; and applying pressure in any circumferential, lateral direction against the collet such that the remaining retention tabs are received within the groove of the collet, whereby the radial dimension of each retention tab being less than the radial dimension of each gripping finger such that each retention tab engages only a single respective gripping finger in order to place the assembly in a locked position.