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On the big vs. little drill press topic-
Being a retired machinist I have used both �a few times� and IMHO I see no real advantage in a larger machine over a smaller machine if:
a) The smaller machine has the capacity to comfortably do the work (the work piece physically fits, and the machine has the right speed and hp for the job). Drilling thin aluminum panels I find a smaller machine "handier".
b) The machine is sturdy/rigid enough. Do you have a way to hold the work piece securely?
Does the chuck wiggle around? A lot of the cheap bench top drill presses (often available under $100) are real bad about this. If you can grab the chuck and wiggle it around with your hand, there go any tolerances you may have been trying to keep by using a drill press. I would prefer to use a hand drill. Also, some of those cheap drill presses will stall out with hardly any pressure.
Chips sticking to the bit and scarring the work piece can be minimized with proper (made for aluminum) lubricants.
Ideally, instead of using a drill bit, a rotary broach would work great for cutting these holes, but is kinda expensive for just a few panels. And of course a milling machine would be a lot better than using a drill press (easy to control exact location and diameters of holes, could stack a lot of panels and do them at once).
I�m just gonna use an old craftsman bench top (mini) press.
Hope this novel was of some help.
Robert