Linear of SMPS. Which can take the odd slip up better
I don't think there's any hard-and-fast rules, really. I suspect (and I'm sure others with more experience will jump in with specific recommendations) that it really is about getting what you pay for to a large extent. If something has been designed to work reliably in a demanding environment then it will - it something has just been designed to sell in volume, then it won't be as reliable.
I'm sure there are exceptions - as I say, others may have some specific good/bad recommendations.
I do a lot of my day-to-day tinkering with a simple linear supply I built years ago, which is combined with my soldering iron power supply. That's just got a 7812/7912 in it - about as simple as they come. Despite years of (ab)use, it's never given any trouble. I suspect you want something more comprehensive though - variable output, variable current limit, metering, etc?
Your Weller transformer, by the way, is probably around the 50VA mark.
There are tutorials on doing transformers in LTspice but, if you're looking at a linear supply (with a line-frequency transformer) then you shouldn't need to worry about it - a sine voltage source with some series resistance will do fine.
Looking at SMPS transformers is simple enough in theory, but in my (very limited) experience the difficulty comes in knowing how to actually build the transformer you have designed, or (conversely) knowing (predicting/measuring) what the characteristics of the transformer you have built will be. Dealing with magnetics at this level is outside the scope of most hobbyists (and many pros) and I for one don't have much "feel" for it yet.
Oh, and regarding "abuse".... it all depends on how you expect to be abusing your supplies?