Chris,
You'll find info on the site as you search around, but I'm also wondering what part of the West Coast as there are a few meets available where you could get some hands on time.
Lots of people use modified HF bead rollers, and that's a good place to start. There are a number of other manufacturers, both hand driven and electrical. It all kind of depends on the budget and what you want to ultimately do with it.
As for english wheels, I bought my from
www.wheelingmachines.com - Kerry Pinkerton who is a administrator here. He's very open with information if you want to build also.
The actual wheels/anvils are available from Joe Andrews at Hoosier Profiles - those are the one's Kerry uses. You can see Joe's products in his ebay store, or contact him directly. Note there is a classified section to this forum as well.
Lots of info here, just takes a bit of time to dig through it.
John