I highly recommend working through the process at least once. There’s a lot guitar building can teach you about woodworking in general, but my favorite part is learning about the crazy custom tools, jigs and fixtures that different luthiers use to achieve essentially the same goal.

There’s some decent inexpensive kit guitars out there that don’t require more than an IKEA-level handyman, and some basic tools you’ve probably already got lying around the house.

Take a look around and you’ll be surprised what you’ll find. Stewmac has a simple cigar box kit going for ~$100 right now. Not a shill, they just have quality stuff. You can definitely find stuff much cheaper on eBay and the like, but Stewmac has great customer service and guarantees all of their products. Plus they have a surplus of reference videos and articles on their site that can guide you through the toughest dovetail.

Awesome! What kind of body wood are you using? Also, what sort of bracing pattern do you plan to follow?

Hope you can find the time to make some dust soon, and make sure to document your progress to share with the rest of the class!