The X Beam is a cool design, similar to the X Table Legs but is supports a middle opening for a wood beam to pass through.
All miter cuts are the same angle. Everything uses a straight cut except the cross supports, and both ends at cut at the same angle. One of these angle finders are quite useful to make sure everything is matching up
X Beam Calculator Definitions:
Inputs:
Height – Overall height of the leg. This doesn’t take into account the piece of flat bar generally put on top (1/8″-1/4″) so subtract this out for best accuracy. Only reason I didn’t include is because it’s another input parameter
Width – Overall width of the leg.
Tubing Width – The size of the steel tubing when looking from the side through the inner hole.
Inner Height / Width – The dimensions of the middle, inner rectangle, where the beam passes through. This should be slightly larger than the beam height and width to make sure it fits smoothly.
Outputs:
Miter Ends – Miter saw setting for making the angled cuts. If you want to know the actual angle of these pieces just do 90 minus this value.
Cross Length – Length of the 4 cross supports making up the X.
Inner Vertical / Horizontal Length – Lengths of the horizontal and vertical pieces making up the inner square. This assumes the square is put together with straight cuts as shown in the sketch. The vertical pieces overlap the horizontal sections. This could be done with 45 degree miters as well, and your horizontal piece will need to be increased by 2* the tubing width.
Finished Designs
