Where do I start?

Hello, I am completely new to all of this. I discovered that I really like lasers and am curious about building my own. It should be noted that I am poor and have know idea what I am doing. I have in my searches found this site and believe that I can learn better from people here rather than from random youtube videos. I have a bunch of old CD-R and DVD-R sleds and wish to if possible safely create a laser pointer capable of maybe popping balloons or something. So my question is, where do I begin? Thanks

Start by Introducing yourself In the welcome section......Jk start with a phr diode from modwrex.

you can start by buying proper saftey glass's for lasers , then i would start researching on the forums for members that build, alot of them will help you learn.

You can start reading some stickies first! They will answer a lot of questions you might have in mind!!
Enjoy the stay
:beer: