Howdy Mr. Mark,
Congrats on your new ownership, Sir, and welcome to the forum!
It sounds like you had your recent purchase planned well. I will say HF tools are excellent beginner level tools, and nice to learn on. If and when you tire of the HF saw, or wear it out, whichever comes first, you'll know by then if this is the hobby for you, and you'll have a solid relationship with your saw.
Were I in your boots, I'd start watchin' CL and other such places for a good, solid used higher end saw as your skills improve. It won't be long, and you'll see why I'm letting you know this.
In the meantime, you made a wise choice in going with the pinless blade change over. Keep in mind every blade sings a different tune while cutting in different thicknesses of wood, so make sure your tension & speed are set correctly. Don't over tighten, but don't run to loose, either.
As far as bein' on the hunt for wood, if there's any construction goin' on in your territory, get to know the job foreman and ask him if he'd let ya do a little "dumpster divin' " in their dumpster. Them fellers pitch more "good lumber" than they pay for. You'd be surprised at the amount and size of lumber you'll find.
Another option, if you're on the ambitious side, might be pallet wood. It's a rough job gettin' them apart, but there is some excellent oak, ash, and maple to be had from those pallets. And, if you're fixed with a planer, jointer, and table saw, glue, clamps and patience, you're set, brother!
You can joint the edges of the pallet slats, run'em through your planer to clean'em up and smooth the faces, fix ya a glue up to look however ya want it to look at the thickness you decided, clamp it together, and let'er set overnight. The next morning, after ya take your clamps off, ya can start sizin' it with your table saw. Just that easy, you're off an' ready to start slingin' sawdust again!
Best of luck to ya, Sir! One step at a time. You'll get the addiction, I promise ya!
