I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who has used it for sides. It's very difficult to get hold of in clear stock and suitable widths. I don't think it's as hard as Ebony, at least the stuff that I've come across isn't. I've used it for fretboards too.
Anyway, Ebony is very occasionally used for sides so I can't see Laburnum being any harder to bend.

Joe , the laburnum wood i cut , was a tree on our property in surrey BC canada. I was doing a lot of furniture at the time. If it is as hard as michael says, then the uk variety is much harder . I got narrow pieces 3-4 in wide at that time. For your first bending session you might want to thin the stock to .080 or 2 mm , You will find it easier to bend. I use a three part laminate for a lot of my sides e.g. .075 and the 2 .022 veneers .Makes for a vy stiff side needing vy little clamping to hold in place inside the mold. Making it much easier to assemble. Gud luck and cheers from the midwest.

I seem to recall some info that the seeds of laburnum are toxic.....does this extend to the wood at all??
Anything to be concerned about in that regard as to working or sanding?
I have a bit that I was thinking about using for marquetry work.
Thanks!

That/s why I cut the tree down in surrey , we had a laburnum growing on the side of our house the branches extended over a large front 2nd story gallery , the long pods and seeds were dumped all over the gallery. Our son was 1 at the time , and needless to say , he stuck everything in his mouth.The tree was a liability with its vy toxic seeds. Joe practice the technique of laminating using either a mold with the side template outline and a lot of 3/4in by 1 in mdf cauls to glue the veneers .I use a brown 2 part veneer glue mixed with water that has a 30 min window..Here it/s called uf glue and a few other names. Don/t know what it/s called in the uk but it/s hard and waterproof.