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Mahlon,
If you are refering to ER-16 collets they work differently than the WW collets. There is a ring groove around the end of the collet. The groove seats into a ring in the tightening nut and the collet must be pressed into the nut before inserting it into the lathe. This can be done in a bench vice using wooden pads in the vice jaws. A proper set of ER-16 collets should be able to hold all of the in between sizes with no loss of accuracy. They are designed to close at both ends and grip much tighter than a WW collet. To tighten the collet you need two wrenches, one to hold the spindle and the other to tighten the nut. With the shaft in the collet tighten the nut until it stops.
david