i have ALOT of exsperience with carpentry, wiring, mechanical systems and all sorts of stuff along those lines. im the person who always has some kind of project going on thats big and complicated to others. yeah i know the big 3 will not be suficient enough for this project. ive been looking at batteries and i was looking at the d3100 powermaster. i found them to be under 350 a piece. and yeah i know yellow tops are out of the question. beleive me im not that much of a noob. i just have some unanswered questions that i wanted some good input on and thought this would be the place to get the help. i apreciate all the concern for my abilitys and whatnot. and as far as the well paying job. ive got an ok one. it will be able to handle my car audio projects. thanks for the answer on the wood question. i was thinking of going ith the mdf anyways because it just seemed to look better side by side with the particle board. ive got most of the tools myself for doing the carpentry work. and if i dont have a tool i know family friends who are very into wood working who can help me out with the tools.