What I ended up doing is upgrading my welder from the very bottom of the barrel to the dregs of the barrel. I bought a Deka inverter welder. It's about the size of a lunch box, weighs like 6 pounds, runs on 220 or 110 with a cord adapter, and I'm blown away by how well it runs 3/32 7018. $130. Technology is an amazing thing.
So yeah instead of buying a collet holder for $150, I'm in it for like $170 but hey I have a new welder.