What kind of motor and where is good place to buy?

Thanks all!! I think I am just going to jump in with the Covington.

So after speaking to many  experienced cabbers they all agreed a good quality combo unit might be my best bet for right now due to the space I have an other restrictions.

 So I narrowed it down to the one I really want, the more expensive Covington 495DCU combo unit which has the blade two wheels and expando  drum.  Or the cheaper LORTONE LU 6X which only has one wheel and one drum.  For the extra 400 I get mostly diamond and the extra wheel to cut down on changing time. Does anyone have any experience with Covington and would you recommend I go with the high end unit?

Never thought about the running saw. Is the cab mate a bad place to start?

So preparing  to buy my very first Cab Machine. I was going to get the cab me since it's a saw and grinder but after adding on the extra wheels and stuff I was pushing $1000. So the question to you all is if you had 1000-$1100 to get your first machine what would you recommend? I need trim saw and grinder , so thought combo unit would be best...

Hello, I am a 40 year old married male with 2 little boys (4 & 2). I recently started wire wrapping jewelry about 6 months ago and am getting ready to buy a Cabmate for my basement so I can start grinding my own cabs. I am hooked! What a great hobby! I am super excited to join your group and look forward to learning a lot! Thanks for having me!

Here are some of my jewelry wraps.


Brian

Isn't the 180 diamond wheel it come with hard? If so, could I just get an 80, then go to 180, then maybe buy a 220 soft?

I think I finally decided on a graves Cabmate for my first machine. Don't have a lot of money or space, so I think this is great solution. My question is what would you reccomend in addition to the all diamond package to get started? Here's what it comes with:
Includes the assembled unit with a package of diamond accessories which includes a 6 x .012 Diamond blade, 180 Grit diamond wheel (6 x 1 1/2), 600 Grit Thin Disc (6 inch), a set of three pads, Diamond Compounds 325, 1200 and 50,000 Grit as well as dop sticks and dop wax.

Will this be enough to do my first cabs? Should I get a nova or some other flex wheel? Any help appreciated!