Thanks Jerry, I agree on the #10 screws, that'll be the way I go. When I mentioned earlier that I kind of winged it on the stretcher I really meant it! I mocked it up in Sketchup and built it exactly to spec. But apparently because of my poor Sketchup skills I made the arc too tall! So, I NEED a thick cleat to give me more room for the stretcher, and I'm still over by about 1/4 inch. Rather than take stock away from the center of the stretcher I was thinking of boring out a little rectangular trench in the top. So as it works out, I can indeed have the stretcher mount to the top. I can probably run a couple screws from under the stretcher right into the top. They won't be seen, but maybe I'll go ahead and fill them with matching plugs too.

Thanks for the input. I wish I could get back to the exciting construction details, but right now I'm in the agonizing throes of sanding all those curves. My poor job of smoothing my leg template is really coming back to bite me. But in my defense, it's really hard to see the lumpy curve in MDF. Once I cut into that dark walnut though, I have bands of alternating light and dark colors that tell me exactly where all my dips are. I've spent the last two nights on just one of the legs, ugh!