Mounting my new Rockler 9" vise to MDF top?

[Tony Shea]

As I've noted in other posts I am in the proccess of building my first woodworking bench. My frame is all put together and am planing on laminating some 3/4" MDF for the top tomorrow (3-4 peices). I just recieved my 9" quick release Rockler WW vise and am shocked at how heavy this thing is. Is 3 peices of MDF going to be able to hold this thing up? I would use 4 peices but would have to mortise out under where the vise is mounted to get the faces close to level with the bench top. Or should I be looking at different methods of creating my top? On a tight budget at the moment.

[glenn bradley]

I buried the rear jaw in the apron that wraps my 4 layer MDF top. Shown in post #2 here. (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57879)

I added a front jaw to hold dog holes. Despite my misgivings, enough folks had used 5/16 lag screws in properly sized pilot holes to hold their vises to their MDF tops and had no failures after years of use. I followed suit and they are still rock solid after a LOT of use.