Official Luthiers Forum!

as some of you may know, i have been working on a "classical" style neck. i don't have any of the acoustic guitar equipment, like side bender, heating blanket/pipe bender, side molds, solera, thousands of clamps, top and side material...
so i was thinking, before i commit totally and plunge in to a thousand bucks of more crap, as long as this first neck is pretty crude, how feasible is a box shaped construction? i don't care if it "looks dumb".
i have read about sides somewhere and how the thickness of them does not influence sound, so i am thinking if i can build the sides out of standard lumber plank, perhaps maple if i'm feeling fancy, i can eliminate all the things that are (literally) keeping me awake at night. then all i'd have to do is purchase a top and back, no other equipment, and i could have me a "boxtar" classical.
but my question is, has it been done before, full size(not cigar box), and if so, is it possible to get a decent sound from a square box?
at this point i don't see why not; the only thing i can think of is: silly appearance; playing ergonomics; and maybe weight
cheers

You really don't need to spend thousands on tools to make an acoustic.
Especially if you already have some.
You can make a lot of the tools yourself.
Get the book on Classic guitar making by Sloane.
He can show you how to do it on the cheap.
A boxtar would probably look silly.
Bo Diddley might like it though!
Then again, if that's what ya wanna do,
just do it!

...so lets just say i wanted to go thru with this: how about the side thicknesses? can they be ridiculously thick, like 5/8"? i read that side thickness does not matter, as far as sound goes....

I remember hearing one time that side thickness does affect sound. Thinner sides are louder but have more overtones. Loud flamenco guitars are known for thin sides. I think...? At any rate, I wouldn't go 5/8". You could always find something 1/8 or 1/4 I would think. Thats would still be pretty thick for sides.