I'm somewhat ignorant in the ways of rechargeable batteries, so forgive me.

I need a 4.8V battery pack for my latest creation, and was wondering if a stacked 2+2 battery pack provides a good enough electrical connection between the cells and to the rest of the saber that I could just use it as the basis of the battery pack? What I mean is - could I get the proper battery holder, fill it with NiMH cells and shrink-wrap the sucker to make a battery pack that way...or should I just buy a pre-made battery pack with welded tabs and so forth?

It's going into a 1.25" tube, so the cells will have to be AAA in size for what I want to do with them and the associated electronics. Therefore, Tim's Sanyo 2500mAh pack will not work for me.