J.S. Reed wrote:

I purchased a 16X54 Reed Prentice lathe recently. It came with a supply of
collects, but the previous owner had never used them.
I tried today to use the collets for the first time, but couldn't get the
collet to tighten up. I don't know whether something is frozen, or I just
don't understand the way the drawbar is supposed to work.

Any information on this particular subject, or anything about this lathe
would be appreciated.

Did you put a bushing in the spindle
and then the collet in the bushing?

I think that's the way it works on
most lathes.