So, I broke down and got the cheapest Harbor Freight
drill press when it was on sale and ended up getting a pretty decent one, its not super noisy at all and it is solid and doesn't have any visible wobble. (so I am guessing the runout is decent) I paid just a bit more than $55 with shipping, which is great deal, I think.
I haven't really done much with it yet though because I don't have any means of safely holding work pieces yet, so now I am looking for a vise of some kind, and if I can afford one I would like to get something I can clamp PCBs as well as other things in that lets me move them around in the X and Y axes, where the drill can come down through the target object and pierce it.
BTW, the drill has turned out nicer than I expected, it doesn't look cheap either. It looks better in real life than it does in their catalogs. Its also much quieter than I expected. Its top speed isn't that high, though, around 3000 RPM.
However, it does seem to be extremely versatile so I hope to be able to use it for general drilling of holes in cases of various kinds as well as for some wood stuff. The thing that I like is that it goes perfectly up and down and there is no wobble that I can see so far.
Hopefully I can maintain it in this state of good adjustment.
So now I need some means of holding the things that I drill precisely. There are a bunch of cross slide vises on ebay for around $35. Again I really can't spend a lot of money. So, basic is what I want, a good all around but basic tool.