Reply To: Bench: How important is it for the upper leg rail to contact the bearer?

The very well received Lie-Nielsen workbenches have no upper rail, while the Sjöberg Elite series do, but they’re not in contact with the benchtop.

My own anecdotal experience from a bench with a glulam top and upper rails screwed into the rear faces of the legs and without contact with the top, is that these rails perhaps aren’t adding that much.

So, I believe that it is more the width of the lower rail and the thickness of the top that are of relevance for bench properties.

The top of the Lie-Nielsen is 4” maple(?), the Sjöberg is 70 mm (2¾”) beech (traditional wood for workbenches), and my own is 95 mm (3 ¾”) dense spruce. Mr. Sellers’ workbench is for a 2¾ top made from construction wood (spruce), and that might be touch and go.

All in all, it might be worth going with your current rail. Should you not be satisfied, you can always screw and wedge a pair into to rear faces of the legs; all in accordance with the principle that workbenches are workbenches are workbenches…

PS.
With the appropriate clamps, having aprons on the rear faces of the legs make surface clamping a lot easier