I’d really love to start making something, even if it’s basic. Any tips on where to start? Tools, wood, etc?
If you are in the US, don’t trust any dimensions for wood. Buy a cheap caliper and measure to confirm. Personally, I prefer to work in metric to resist the urge to round to a nice fraction. That being said, measurements are always relative and wood is very forgiving so keep a few offcuts labeled and stored away to use as a reference.
As far as tools go: a cheap pull saw, square, hammer, and a steel straight edge will get you started. Harbor freight has some cheap entry level tools worth buying once to learn on. A drill would be my first power tool purchase if you don’t have one.
I sprang for a starrett combination square when I began my woodworking journey and it’s probably the single most useful tool I own.
It’s not necessary to have a square that precise, but knowing one part of the process is dead square is handy for figuring out where error comes from when there are issues