Advice on U-shaped wall mounted desk

[Leftside]

Howdy,

I am going to be building a wall mounted desk that will wrap around a room in a U-shape, I have purchased 16 A&M brackets (15"x21" http://www.aandmhardware.com/2d-drawings.php), mounted with 1/4" x 3" lag bolts, will use a 1x2 as a wall cleat to run around the rear of the desk, and plan on using 3/4" red oak plywood (or something similar).  The desk will be 24" deep in most placed except the two corners, and I plan on mounting the brackets every other stud (32" spacing).  The top will hang over the edge of the brackets by 3".

I am asking for any advice on the project or changes I should consider before I start bolting these brackets up.  Does anyone have a good trick to mounting individual brackets to make it easy to ensure they are level and are mounted straight up and down, and at the proper height?  Also, does anyone think the top (3/4" red oak ply, the good stuff!) wont be sturdy enough?  I used the sagulator and it said it would be okay with 50lb/ft.  If anyone has any suggestions on a different top to use or any other way to make sure it is solid, I am all ears.

Thanks for your advice, I hope to make a killer desk/LAN station that should be able to house 7 computers comfortably.  I'll post some pictures as I put it together.

[Arktinkerer]

Adding a front edge of just a couple inches and a back rail to the wall will make the desk much more sturdy and usually you want a front edge anyway.  Hardwood trim for the front edge and simple pine strapping or 1x3 for the back edge is adequate.

[zolotiyeruki]

Arktinkerer is 100% right--add a 1x2 (or any 1x) to the front and back edges of the desk, both for structural support and to protect the edge of the plywood.

24" deep is ok for most applications, and makes for efficient use of plywood.  My wife's desk (built of oak and plywood) has a 27"-deep surface, and the extra few inches are nice.  I used a 1x4 on the front edge, but that increased height was for aesthetic reasons, not structural :)

[Goldielocks]

We added 2 support legs at the very ends of our 3 person work surface, where we put in a file cabinet and could not bolt the end to the 4th wall

[Leftside]

Adding a front edge of just a couple inches and a back rail to the wall will make the desk much more sturdy and usually you want a front edge anyway.  Hardwood trim for the front edge and simple pine strapping or 1x3 for the back edge is adequate.

from what you said I am thinking using 2 1x2 boards, one screwed to the bottom of the plywood at the front edge (which would create 1.5" combined with the plywood), and one screwed against the now 1.5" front.  I would also route the top to create a nice rounded edge that feels good on the wrists.

For the back, do you just mean a piece of pine on the top side of the desk, I already am putting a wall cleat on the underside which should support it from the bottom.

[Arktinkerer]

Adding a front edge of just a couple inches and a back rail to the wall will make the desk much more sturdy and usually you want a front edge anyway.  Hardwood trim for the front edge and simple pine strapping or 1x3 for the back edge is adequate.

from what you said I am thinking using 2 1x2 boards, one screwed to the bottom of the plywood at the front edge (which would create 1.5" combined with the plywood), and one screwed against the now 1.5" front.  I would also route the top to create a nice rounded edge that feels good on the wrists.

For the back, do you just mean a piece of pine on the top side of the desk, I already am putting a wall cleat on the underside which should support it from the bottom.

The wall cleat will do the job.  The idea is to make taller edges.  This works to drastically stiffen the desktop.  One thought about the front edge--making this just slightly proud of the plywood surface can help prevent things from sliding/rolling off the desk.  The con is that you don't have a smooth surface so cleaning is harder and some people don't like the look.  I like a 1/32" or so lip on my work surfaces to keep parts and tools on the table.

[zolotiyeruki]

I skipped the 1x2 on the bottom surface of the plywood--I just glued and nailed the 1x2 to the front edge of the plywood.  6 or 7 years on and still holding strong.