Sure you can do it. And it will be rewarding. My first purchase as a
college kid beginner was hand tools. I then bought a book about some
simple projects. It started you out by recommending hand tools and a
first project of a hipped tool box of wood. It was just four pieces of
wood nailed and screwed together but I still have that thing and it is
still holding my first hand tools. That was 1973.

I then scrounged wood from construction sites(watch out for nails and
sharp objects) and used it to build some crude tables and shelves. Then
I bought a circular saw and things really got interesting.

I got so interested that I took a community college course from a local
remodeling contractor and at the end he offered me a job. He taught me
how to build home frames, decks, cabinets, and other stuff. By using
his tools I learned not only how to do the work but what tools I liked
to use and what some of the good brands were.

Doing a deck would be a great exercise in cutting and framing and in
supporting your framing with posts and concrete. When you do it you
will enjoy being on it even more than if you had it done. And you will
save money as long as you watch your safety rules. The world of tools
has come a long way in being easier to use over the last decade or two.

There is also at least one line of hand tools just for women. I don't
remember the name of it but it was created by a female carpenter and
"handyperson". See... I can be politically correct.

Go get em.

Ron T