To all that have opened 1000's of packs you guys have a better feel for it, however, in my experience here is what I have found:
1. Gloves are great! (thin, tough, better for dexterity)
2. No matter what, you WILL bleed for this project. For me, many times over, plus the occasional hot glue or solder burn.
3. Use pointed, shearing-type cutter for the Nickel strips(think of the way scissor cut versus side cutters come together flat)
4. Stick in vice, use crescent or channel-locks to twist ~120 degrees each way then open.
5. Get a set of plastic prybars they're cheap, work great for getting in between double-sided tape and case.
They are also for many other things in the project, and obviously, non-conductive.
( ebay: Car-Door-Plastic-Trim-Panel-Clip-Lights-Radio-Audio-Removal-Pry-Open-Tool-MU-/162488309608 )
6. Time, it takes alot of time to open and strip, no way around it.
7. Laptop manufacturers Love tape, and silicon glue. You will have plenty of time to think about how and why they use so much of it.
8. I have been thinking of a way to test cells before striping all the tape, glue, and nickel strips off, which will save alot of tedious, time-consuming work.
9. Print out the Cell database sheet in color and hang it on the wall in front of you.
You want to quickly ID, separate, and exclude cells that have low capacity (eg 2000mAh new ) prior to pack disassembly.
10. Plan your size system.
If you plan 100 or 100000 cells, estimate and order enough Chargers, Dischargers (Proper resistors), internal resistance (if your into that kinda thing) testers, plastic mounting holders (4x5), decent 60watt+ soldering iron or bus bar welder, Fuse material, etcordered.
Because, packages from china take 1-2mo. and sometimes get lost and need to be ordered. You don't want to wait for testing equipment to arrive before you, like me, have 20 chargers but only 1 discharger..
Other possible things:
plastidip your sheer tips , that way you can reduce the short circuit potential. Granted the sheer face and tips will be worn down with normal use but other non-contact points would be less likely to touch.
hope that helps