Hi Alex;
I've got a Compact-8 with the ER25 holder (from Emco) for it.
I purchased a full set of collets – RegioFX, if I remember the name correctly.
On my mill, I have a Schaublin (again, spelling) ER25 collet chuck.
I find it all incredibly useful. I purchased this all back in the early 1990s, before the Asian imports became so popular.
The ONLY issue I've found is that, sometimes, the collet I want is on the other machine; I have picked up some Asian collets, and these appear fine, as others have also said. Over here, many things are still in inch, so one of the collets is a 1/2" one, which matches the drill chuck straight shanks that I have.
On my mill, the ER25 collet adapter hasn't been off in years; I have a couple of drill chucks on straight shanks, that I just put in a collet.
On the lathe, 90% of the time, the ER25 collet holder is in place, but that really depends on what type of things you are machining. Right now, I'm doing lots with small rods (boiler fittings).
Edited By John Alexander Stewart on 28/03/2018 18:09:15