FWIW, I think that drill presses are some of the better tools Ryobi
makes. That's not to say I think they are particularly good tools, but
a Ryobi drill press sure beats a hand-held drill.

However, you might consider whether another (especially a budget model)
drill press is going to still have the same problems as your current
drill press. Give the Chinese gizmo a fair chance. Try starting with a
center drill; that will give a larger bit a well-defined starter hole
and less reason to wobble. If the hole is "large" (I will leave it to
others to correct me or fill in details here), then start by drilling a
smaller hole and then re-drilling to size. Searching archives of this
group will turn up some useful detail.

IMHO, you should at least consider limping along with the press you have
now and eye a mini-mill or a mill-drill for the future. I respect your
sticking to a budget, but would hate to see you waste money on a chain
of tools that will not meet your needs. You might spend some time
researching the next step (this is a great place to learn), combined
with saving and waiting for an excellent deal on a new or used machine
that you can afford and will do what you want. With careful planning,
you can avoid getting clobbered too badly on tooling; there will be a
cost/convenience tradeoff (e.g., R8 collets are cheap, ER collets are
convenient), but you seem ready to deal with that.

By all means stick to your budget. You will thank yourself for it.

Thanks! More great info for me. Yep - I am well aware that sometimes
"cheaper is not cheaper" !

But it does make sense to apply some of the hints and advice from this group
before I write off the cheapo drill press I currently have. The motor is
only 1/2HP --- which I honestly did not research much before I bid on it.

That's good to hear about the Ryobi drill presses ! I have been very happy
with my 18v power tools so far and have refinished most of a bath, kitchen,
and 3rd bedroom using nothing but them for power tools. I recently bought a
Ryobi mitre saw for cutting aluminum and am very pleased with it.

Anyway, Thanks for yet more great advice !
JCD