Bill wrote:

It seems that those would be useful at top and bottom of the vertical
"risers" (8 in all). Would you use them in additional places on this
project?
I have been intending to make liberal use of lag bolts to hold most
of the pieces together. Advice is always welcome!


Nuts and bolts are far superior to lag bolts Bill. Think of lags as a
fastener of last resort for things that require strength.

--

-Mike-