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.

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.

I have the manual and machine like yours. Can you see a thin walled
tube going thru your spindle front to back? they call this the pusher
tube I think. I can send you a copy of the parts list and a picture of
how everything is supposed to go.

There is a that has been started. Best
regards, craig