Totally with you on this. My first few fuzzes were on this warped piece of perfboard I kept reusing, and I'd spend a whole evening just figuring out how to squeeze the jacks past the pots. There was something weirdly satisfying about a build looking like a mess inside but sounding great. Last month I grabbed one of those pre drilled kits just to save time and I finished it before my coffee got cold, and honestly it felt kind of empty. The puzzle was the whole point for me, not just having the pedal at the end. Still got a drawer full of old perf scraps and I keep telling myself I'll use them again.

Have you tried the wiggle test where you hold the signature by the edges and see if it flops like a wet noodle? I learned the hard way that if you tap too hard you get little dents in the paper right where the thread goes, and those weak spots tear way easier down the road. My sweet spot is tapping till the folds feel solid but the paper still has a little give when you press it. Also worth checking that your thread isn't too thick for the paper, because that eats through stuff way faster than tight tapping ever will.