Pick some small projects for the shop (box to hold glue, wall shelf with housing dadoes for finishing supplies, small cabinet with dovetailed sides), use one of the woods noted above and finish to your taste (my saw till is painted pine, for walnut I'd use shellac, etc).

You can keep things simple and still have useful items, and the act of finishing will let you see where surface defects telegraph through (even with paint).

You'll also see that imperfect dovetails can still be perfectly adequate to hold something together.