Beds: Nine Outstanding Projects by One of America's Best

I have built guitars but never a bed. When my wife and I were looking for a new bed for our daughter I volunteered to make a nice bed for less than the cost of cheaply made china bed, but before we purchased one plank of lumber I bought this book for my tablet. I didn't use any of the bed plans within the book but I was able to understand the construction of the most popular styles of wooden beds so that I didn't have to reinvent the process of building one. I found the sizing and side rail fastening parts to be the most useful as well as the slat info. I made an ambitious sleigh bed which took me 6 months to complete but ultimately I was very well built and I enjoyed the build. I recommend the Beds for anyone looking for ideas and more importantly guidance.

I am in the process of finishing up the bed shown on the cover of this book. It is the first bed and biggest project I have ever made since I have a samll shop and limited tools. It turns out beautifully that even surprises myself. Jeff Miller gives detailed instructions, design and material list that makes the project a easy task. I happen to have a mortise machine that makes the mortises for the slats much easier and nicer. Also, after I visited a local store, I easily changed dimensions of the bed to suit personal taste. I really enjoyed making this bed.

I bought this a few weeks ago and am working on building one of the designs in it. If terms and tools like router table, stacked dado blade, rabbit, mortise, tenon, "mill up a board," or "glue up a plank" are already in your shop and lexicon, then you need no other book but this to make some really outstanding beds. If not, do what I did and buy some basic woodworking books as well. I have done a lot of basic carpentry such as building sheds, decks, railings and whatnot for decades, but, other than some refinishing now and then, not indoor furniture-class work. With that background I found I was stumped at a fair number of terms or bits of advice that, I assume, experienced furniture makers are entirely familiar with. That said, I am hard at work on one of the more unique designs in the book and thrilled at the quality of design and instruction (though in my case supplemented with other, more basic books). However, even with the above caveat unaddressed, I would still give the book a fifth star if it had the following: 1) More specific suggestion for how to scale up dimensions for the thicker mattresses and box springs on the market today (the bed design I am working with assumes a 6 to 8 inch thick mattress, which is very thin for the mattresses, much less even a low profile box spring as well, of the type one might be inclined to buy for such a nice bed in the first place). So I am left with guessing how best to hide more than 10 inches of additional mattress and box spring height in an appealing manner (e.g., how much should I attempt to gain by making taller posts, versus lowering the rails, versus gluing up a wider headboard plank, versus higher placement of a same-size plank -- I'd love an expert's suggestion rather than my own poor guess at what solutions will still be pleasing to eye). 2) With all the author's expertise, I'd love some basic suggestions on types of wood beyond the observation that maple is good for slats on wider beds. 3) Include a list of basic shop tools one will need (or prefer to have). 4) Give a few references for neophytes about good books on where one can learn some basic skills that are assumed. If you already have a full shop set up, you can make a beautiful bed very inexpensively with this book. If you are missing some of the more expensive tools needed, as I was, you can still make a bed for about the cost of buying a quality one already made, but yours will likely be better made and, when you are done, you'll have more shop machinery and skills for future projects as well. Overall, if you are already skilled in furniture making, or simply ready to take the next step to developing that skill, this seems like a great set of instructions with a range of elegant designs to choose from.

I've not build 5 beds and refer to this book every time for basic dimensions and techniques. The information and recommendations for sizes are clear and the designs provided are good for either building "as is" or using as a basis for your own design. My only "complaint" is that I would make the beds about 1" longer than what Jeff specifies to allow more room for tucking in sheets/blankets/comforter. Maybe I just have a lot thicker bed coverings than most, but it gets tight.

I expected more variety. I suppose there are only so many ways to make a bed. It was worth perusing, but I wish it had been at the local library. I see no need to keep this one around.

Published 21 years ago, this book still holds value. The theory discussions about standard sizes, Joe calculate rail lengths and other topics make for a great reference. Although a bit dated on tool tech (for example Festool domino and modern connecting hardware systems) its a great primer on how to properly construct solid well designed furniture

Book offers new ideas to that I will like to explore. Great book.

This book gave me the confidence to build a bed. I chose Jeff's most basic design and it went smoothly. I would not say this book is for the complete novice however. I had oversight from an experienced woodworker. Nevertheless, Jeff is a good writer with nice pictures. And opinions. The great thing about Tauton Press books is that they get experts to share their insights and opinions that you simply do not get from people like Time-Life The projects range in style, and they are all pleasing.

very usefull this book

very good

Helping me getting ideas for my own bed build.

Although this book contains only 9 projects, it does provide a basis for designing your own beds and clearly illustrates the fundamentals of bed design and construction.