Don’t be afraid to start out with just hand tools … for us hobbyists, the simple tools get us “in touch” with the wood itself, forming a more personal relationship and better to sense the mood of the wood …
Seconding Paul Sellers. He’s great to watch even if you aren’t into woodworking, sort of the grandpa you never had. He’s got a series of videos on making “poor man’s” tools.
I’m not so keen on WW. He’s too cutesy for my taste.
I’d add Wood by Wright. His intros and closings are also cutesy, but the meat of the vids is straighforward. He’s also a good addition to Paul in that he shows how you can make very good tools using inferior ones.
I’m newer than noob to all this, but as you can tell I’m pretty much disinterested in power tools for their expense, noise and the space they take up. A cabinet the size of your average armoire can hold all the hand tools you’ll need for years.
Also, a lot of people encourage using pallets as a cheap source of wood. But there’s too steep a learning curve, IMHO, and other sources for free or cheap scrap wood, like housing construction sites (“por favor, esta basura?”) and scrap bins at the big box stores.
Not necessarily the best wood, but “oak” and “cheap” aren’t two words that frequently occur together in the wild!
CMC fnord!
IMHO, I wouldn’t touch pallets. They are made from rejects from other industries, so the wood is strong but crappy, with knots and funky grain, with hidden nails to wreck your saw blade.
Why set yourself up for frustration, when for a few bucks you can get some good lumber?
Of course there will be places where pallets are appropriate, such as if you want lots of cheap boards for a doghouse or some other simple structure, but I wouldn’t use them for furniture, and wood is too cheap to bother with pallets for small shop projects such as puzzles and boxes.
Another good place is a company that makes kitchen cabinets. They usually have tons of cut ends that they’re happy to sell you for a few bucks an armload. Not pieces large enough to make a dresser or even a chair, but good stuff for practicing on.
For the OP, learn to read the grain direction on the piece you’re working on. If you look at the side grain, look to see if the grain is rising in one direction, like this (exaggerated): ///// This makes a big difference if you are hand planing, as going against the grain will result in tear-out and frustration. Fancy wood is nice to look at, but planing over knots and swirls and ripples is a royal PITA. If you want to learn how to finish that sort of wood, pick something like knotty pine or other cheap wood to practice on. Also, speaking of planing, your blade only needs to extend past the mouth by a fraction. It won’t take long to get a feel for it.
Most importantly for edge tools: NEVER PLACE YOUR APPENDAGES IN FRONT OF THE BLADE, other than to grab a provided tool handle. If you have to grab the work that way in order to steady it, then you’re doing it wrong (see previous comments on clamps). Believe me, a properly sharpened blade will cut you to the bone in a second.
In Taiwan, I’m going to assume limited space is a factor, so short of a massive workbench, you want to secure your workpiece to a platform that you can then steady with your own mass via your foot, knee, or butt. I’d highly recommend a clamping folding workbench like the Black and Decker Workmate (I have the Harbor Freight knockoff).
There’s nothing more discouraging than laying out all your cuts only to find you can’t saw a straight line. After following the tips in this video, my cuts were vastly improved. Worth watching if only for Matt’s buttery-ass accent.
Finally, just last night I found this channel featuring a Chinese master woodworker. Between my limited vocabulary and his regional inflection, I can understand about 60% of what he says, but thankfully there are English subtitles if you turn on the subtitles/closed captioning. Very informative and inspiring tutorials on how to make your own time-proven woodworking tools. If nothing else, he should give you some insight on the local tools, terminology and techniques.
Another vote for B&D Workmate.
Just watched that video as I’ve always had a hard time keeping my hand saw cuts straight. Good stuff! It’s such a great time to be into hobbies like these as there are an immense amount of good, informative videos to show you things that only were taught by working with a more experienced woodworker before. No one is born knowing how to use a saw correctly, the cartoons I watched as a kid that had a little but of sawing didn’t help, watching my dad brute force his way through cuts that didn’t exactly turn out right didn’t help, but thanks to these types of videos it’s really no effort to learn the right way or at least a better way for all of these skills.
Having said that, does anyone have a recommendation for a good carcass saw? I’ve looked a veritas (whose products I’ve bought and loved and customer service are top-notch) and Lie-Nielson, but are there cheaper gems or more-expensive-but-DEFINITELY-worth it saws available? I like in an area that doesn’t have any woodworking stores around, so most likely I’ve have to buy before seeing.
I’d vote for it if you could get one from the 70s. I got a new one just a few years ago and it’s crap compared to my old one. You might as well save money and get the Harbor Freight knock-off.
You can find decent and cheap Japanese style saws at Ace or other hardware distributors. Mine is perfectly functional, though cutting on the pull stroke takes a little getting used to. I have a Lie-Nielsen back saw that I bought on a whim, but I wouldn’t buy one again because I don’t see a real advantage to it. Basically, any sharp, fine-toothed saw will do the job as long as it’s not a flimsy POS.
Well, that sux! But thanx for the tip.
ETA: I just remembered a TV show I saw several years ago–a father and son Canadian router workshop show. Very informative. Sorry, can’t remember the name.
I sure miss Woodworkers Warehouse. They had all kinds of cool stuff like special hand saws and the like. I still have a really sharp dovetail saw I bought there.
Another victim of online shopping.
I remember that show. I think it was called Router Workshop. They recommended building a router table from their plans instead of buying one. My old table saw had a cut out in the table to mount a router and I could use the fence with it, but the one they used on the show was much more convenient, you just popped the whole table top off to change bits and adjust the height. I should find those plans and make one of those.
^ 30 seconds of Googling got me the title: “The Router Workshop.”
Actually, “The Rooter Workshop,” eh? 
Ninja-ed, eh?
You’re right, there are a TON of videos out there and some of them are pure crap. Some are pretty good too.
Step One, get a YouTube account if you don’t already have one.
Don’t think of YouTube as individual videos. Think of YouTube as a series of the CHANNELS they offer, and subscribe to those channels of the content providers where you realize you can respect their advice. When you have a YouTube account, as you watch videos, other videos will show up in your feed that might be of interest to you. Eventually you’ll be able to go down a rabbit hole of topics that are of interest to you; and this will allow you to subscribe to other providers that offer good content.
I’m obviously a big fan of the Woodworking channels on YouTube. I’m of the opinion that immersing yourself in all of the woodworking topics that interest you on YouTube (even if you don’t have the tools required for that subject) will have a tangentially related benefit.
Here are some of the channels I have subscribed to on YouTube:
William Ng - He’s the owner of a pretty well known School of Fine Woodworking (https://wnwoodworkingschool.com/).
WoodWorkWeb with Colin Knecht. - I like this guy, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a project he’s built; however if you can make a jig for that project; he’s your guy! 
I like him mostly because he gives a lot of simple advice for beginner woodworkers; and generally shows how to make things easier.
Woodworking for Mere Mortals - Stevin Marin was mentioned above. He’s kind of goofy; but I like his videos because he shows how you can make things with the basic set of tools and not have to worry about having the best tools out there.
The Wood Whisperer - Marc Spagnolo is the guy you could be if you had the best of the best. He also regularly broadcasts on youtube live. He’s good at explaining and demonstrating technique of more advanced topics. Related to that; There’s also a pretty active channel on Facebook called The Woodworking Community | Facebook that’s kind of fun to follow.
Popular Woodworking - The youtube accompaniment to the Popular Woodworking magazine. A variety of topics and skill levels. i.e. vaccuum bag veneering to marshmallow catapults.
Jackman Works - More of a creative woodworkers/carpentry site. To quote from his youtube channel: "Home for woodworking, construction, upcycling, reclaiming, welding, epoxy, etc. My goals are to inspire you to make cool things, get people excited about making, and teaching while keeping it super fun and interesting. "
Jon Peters - “Jon Peters Art & Home teaches and inspires you to make art, woodworking, and home improvement projects at home. Whether you’re a beginning artist, a practical do-it-yourselfer, or a professional craftsman, my videos will provide a how-to guide to great projects. I will show you the tools, plans, and tricks of the trade to bring art and design to your home.”
Matthias Wandel - Not sure if I should include this one; but his videos are interesting. He gives his take on woodworking through an engineers eye. Personally, I wonder if he’s on the spectrum a little bit.
Woodsmith Shop - The accompanying channel to a TV show here in the USA on educational TV.
Paul Sellers Woodwork - This guys is the king of all woodworking as far as I’m concerned. No powertools and everything just comes out incredible!
Some other tips I have learned, I am by no means an expert, just things I have done.
Try using those soft felt pads for furniture legs on your clamps to prevent marring, works better than scrap pieces of wood at holding/not marring. Keep them far away from any stains or polyurethane though, you’ll never get the fibers out.
Old school planers are the best for multiple reasons
A bastard file set is a must.
Dip your chisels and rusted tool heads into phosphoric acid to get rid of the rust before sharpening, then again after, then rinse and dry them thoroughly.
Knotty pine sucks for everything… except practice and scrap.
I have a good spray for helping keep rust at bay. It’s great for coating the feed trays of things like joiners and planers, or just spraying on hand planes, chisels, etc. Makes the wood slide much easier and retards rust.
What is the fantastic spray and where can I get a bottle of it? It sounds awfully convenient and porbably doesn’t make the whole room smell like a rancid fart like phosphoric acid. I seem to recall an automotive spray or something that some use on their tools and I wonder if its the same.
I would love to know what magic spray keeps rust at bay.
All of my machine tools and associated gear rust in the humid months, and there’s nothing I can do except slather more oil on them. There has to be a better way.