Like the idea of building a set of sawhorses (if you have no decent
worktable very well. I work of sawhorses most of the time.

The idea of taking a woodworking class is excellent, and you might take
a look at joining a woodworking club like the ones that meet at your
local Woodcraft or whatever woodworking stores you might have.

Just to get you going in the right direction since you have made a
choice, check this out:

http://www.freeww.com/chests.html

Look like they had some great projects in there that could really help
learn some basic used of the tools.

Good luck!

Robert