You must give them a real caning if you need heavy duty leg brackets!

Not really, but the cabinet was in need of some strengthening to try and prevent future separation.  Just more to keep everything square and together, but also for the sake of $12.00 a leg, may as well get it done right.  The old ones had had threaded bolts put into them so I wouldn't trust the 2.5mm of thread left in there either...