My next major purchase will be a drilling machine, either a drill press or a mill/drill. Among the other key aspects in choosing one is quill travel... but it occurred to me I wasn't sure why. It seems like bits often don't have very long shanks, and run-out (presumably) becomes more of an issue at the extreme of quill travel. This question could very well be born out of ignorance, but with all that said, how useful is it really to have 5"+ travel as opposed to something more conservative like 3-1/2" or 4"?
Ladies and gentlemen, please enlighten me.