7 Months. 8 Chairs.
After 7 months in the shop, these chairs are done and at the table where they belong.
The backs are bent lamination — 6 strips of 1/8 WO glued up over a form I made from MDF. A few things I learned along the way:
The form matters more than you think. Any imperfection in the mold telegraphs straight into the final piece. I had to remake mine once after the first test lamination came out with a flat spot.
Getting Thin Strips is Hard. I was not able to get perfect 1/8 thin strips with my planer so I had to resort to a shop nearby with a drum sander.
Clamp from the Middle. I found that starting the clamp up from the middle the best way to get an even clamp up.
Total time was roughly 60-70 hours for the set.
Happy to answer questions on the form-making or the lamination process.
I posted a YouTube video documenting the process.