A good piece of equipment when it comes to collets is the collet check manufactured by Bison (Polish), it looks like a lathe check and mounts on the spindle nose of the lathe. Collets are loosened/tightened with a chuck key just like a 3 jaw chuck. Bison brand is reasonably priced and there are knock offs sold by the catalog suppliers, I have seen them on sale for $99.00. You need to purchase a back plate to match the type of spindle nose of your lathe but it is stall a cost effective accessory to give your lathe collet capability.
