[analog8374]

an oak chair would take forever

I wonder if this could be done with bamboo.

Can you graft bamboo? Maybe join it by weaving or twisting

[shmeeed]

Your comment made me think of those helix-shaped bamboos from IKEA. While this is of course on a whole different level, it does suggest some kind of shaping is possible for bamboo as well. And it wouldn't take decades...

[coryrc]

"Lucky bamboo" is actually a lily.

[shmeeed]

Akshually, it's an asparagus - dracaena sanderiana (or, usually erroneously, - braunii).

Thanks for inspiring me to look it up! I'm gonna have so much fun at the next party :D

[dekhn]

Probably rattan, not bamboo.

[shmeeed]

See my other comment - it's neither bamboo nor rattan, but a kind of asparagus.

[dekhn]

Ah, I was thinking of the rattan chairs, some of which are woven into patterns although I don't see any helices.