Floormount and name brand tools for this kid.
I'm a big fan of stand alone Name Brand machinery. For my style of working on furniture or airplanes or cars (messy), anything bench mounted takes up valuable bench space, which I invariably clutter to the max. For example, I have a table top belt sander. And every time I put it away, I hate having to fish it out and find a spot on the bench. Sometimes I hate hauling it out so much, that I resort to dressing by hand to avoid hauling out the heavy bench mounted unit and finding a place to set it down. Funny, I thought I was saving time and space when I bought it.....
My drill press is a Delta 16.5" throat floor model, speeds from 250-3000 rpm. I have done all my deburring with a scotchbrite wheel in the chuck. Great time saver. I can slow it way down, and a drill press is never in the way, and easy to slide around on the floor to get into a better position. Perfect also for jigging and drilling pushrod tubes, and the tailwheel spring.
I cut metal with a floor mounted band saw (Jet brand, 15" throat) which is mounted on a (STC brand) roller cart, so I can roll it around the shop.
The other tool which I have found invaluable is my Hitachi Mitre saw, which I bought years ago for wood trim work! I have a 60 tooth carbide blade, and I cut all kind of thick alum with it. Very clean edge, almost nothing to deburr, and very square. Just make sure you go really slow with the feed, and have the material dogged down...oh yeah, and ear protection is a must. Perfect for tubular as well as bar and angle stock. It does such a better job than my band saw for simple cross cuts. I learned this from a friend who owns a tool shop. He cuts alum on a mitre saw, and cuts alum sheets with his table saw. Makes a racket, but does a fine job of squaring up big thick sheets.
Oh, and my new favorite tool is my The Bone 'Rough Rider' Creeper. Easily rolls over tools, extension cords and even an air hose on its 5" dia wheels! It's' pricey, but I've already been thru two $50 creepers in 20 years, so this one at $120 should do me for the rest of my life.
That's my attitude toward tools-buy it once, buy it for life. I've seen friends buy junk and spend all their time messing around to keep them running. An A&P/IA friend who owns his own repair facility (and should know better) bought a chinese bench mounted band saw and bench mounted belt sander at some local discount tool show. I could not believe that he bought them, and they were useless after a week or so. Then, in an effort to save face, he spent hours jury rigging parts to make both work. False economy in my opinion. Stick with a name brand, or, buy from a store that you can take the tool back for a refund and you'll not be sorry. Just my 2 cents, and worth about what you paid for it.....