Hi Newob,
Its nice to see someone that actually wants to build.
I would suggest starting with Kit, like a Sig Kadet, LT20, or LT 40.
I do not doubt your wood working abilities. The reason I suggest a kit, is that depending on the type of plane you are building, there are some things that need to be done in a certain sequence. There also parts of the construction that may not be obvious by looking at plans.
Once you've built a kit, your scratch build will be easier than if you started right out with a scratch build.
I would also suggest starting out using a new engine. It sounds like you do not know the history of the engines you have. They may have problems. It is very frustrating to maiden a plane with a temperamental engine. Once you have a little experience with running a 2 cycle engine, you can then play with the ones you found and maybe put them on you next kit or scratch build.
I am not trying to discourage you from scratch building. i just want you experience to be as successful as possible and this is my advice based on my experience.

This is my background in case you are curious
I got into RC seriously about 4 years ago, although I did play around a little bit with an ARF when I was in my 20's (about 30 years ago).
To date, I have built 5 kits, and am currently working on my first scratch build (1/2 a Pacer).
My wood working skills are average, but I am continuing to improve.

good luck to you