i did read some. when i was around 6, i used to make radios and calculators for fun, so playing with electrical components aren't too foreign to me.
mechanical mods are basically a battery holders. with coil, resistor, in place, pressing button completes the circuit. battery is just a capacitor that holds the charge. the dangerous part is the current. i understand the ohms law. important part in this set up is not to over draw from the battery. if the coil doesn't provide enough resistance, it will over draw from the battery and possibly cause vent, and explosion.
i'll be shooting for around .7-.8 ohms. with this set up, battery with 20 A should handle the situation fine. Sony batteries are hard to find, but Samsung 25R seems to be readily available.
I still have few multimeters and just replaced batteries in them. know how to measure resistance for the coils, and how to check battery. not sure how to check voltage drop, but i'm sure i can find that out.
i'll be using 28g wires for coil, kanthal. cotton, i want to try japanese cotton, but they are hard to come by, so i'll use generic organic cotton ball for a while.
it's like anything else.. little reading helps alot