I was just wondering if someone could tell me what is the difference between a regular lathe collet and a wire collet?
Thanks for all help.

Kevin,
In my Small Tool Catalog No. 31, they show a spring collect as being used for automatic and wire feed screw machines.

Kevin,
Still looking for a description of the Wire Collet.

Thanks for the images Wayne, quite interesting.

Another picture of different watchmaker lathe collets.

Nice Wayne, wish i had all those collets for my peerless lathe, any idea what the big faceplate or chuck on the right is used for?

Kevin,
My catalog lists that as a "Tapered hole face plate".

Back to the original question. Wire collet is the machinist term- split chuck is the watchmakers term.

Thanks Wayne for the information, i was certain it was a faceplate but not sure if it had a special purpose.
Thanks George, i had seen these terms used before and was not sure if they were refering to the same animal.I am a machinist and i just refer to these as collets, but there are other kinds used in both watch repair and machining work.

Kevin,
The face plate is for odd shape one off jobs[should have clamps with it]. Staff wire used to come in wooden tubes marked Staff wire & the size hence wire collet to chuck it up. If you're curious Brittens watch & clockmakers dictionary & guide is a good reference[the older the better] & some of the old lathe manuals & guides[DeCarles & Levins among others] have a wealth of information.

George.

Kevin,
In my catalog, this is how they show the face plate usage.

The draw-in collet chuck is the most accurate of all types of chucks. The work held in the collet should not be more than .001 in smaller or .001 in larger than the collet size or it could impar the accuracy of the collet. A separate collet should be used for each diameter of work.