Learned that lesson the hard way after my patch job looked like a shiny bald spot on my ceiling for six months.

Hate to be the guy who goes against the grain here but cash stuffing sounds like a nightmare to me. I tried it for a month and ended up forgetting I had thirty bucks in a 'fun money' envelope and lost it in the couch for two weeks. Plus it feels like I'm just creating more work for myself having to physically go to the bank every week instead of just checking my app.

and honestly that kind of attitude just feeds this weird cycle where newcomers feel like they need to drop thousands before they're "allowed" to enjoy the hobby. i've met guys like that at meets in dallas too, he probably spent $600 on a board that sounds exactly like every other TGR with the same switches and keycaps as everyone else. the thing is, most people don't care what you spent, they just want to see something with a story behind it. you lubed your own switches and built it from scratch on a budget, that's way more interesting than someone who just bought a complete top tier board off a group buy. if he can't see the value in that, he's missing the whole point of these meetups, which is sharing what you love, not flexing your wallet. your NK65 is legit, don't let one sour grape ruin the whole bowl.

Read a pitmaster interview where Tuffy broke down how water pan placement changes steam flow, and yeah @mason_jackson nailed it.

Man you just nailed it. I had the exact same problem for months where I was basically attacking the paper with my 1.5, thinking more pressure would force the blend to happen. Total backfire. Once I did the opposite and went featherlight over the transition area, everything smoothed out like magic. It's wild how counterintuitive this stuff is sometimes, lighter touch actually gives you better control in the end.