oh, and do not be afraid of surface mount. It’s actually easier than it looks, especially if you were smart and did order a stencil (otherwise it’s a toothpick and paste, nothing too hard, just… so slow that paste will dry out).

paste recommendation: ChipQuick. Surprisingly, stuff from hobby shop works better than many professional products, even in professional settings. I had my team leaving spatula on stencil printer for months, just warm it up a but and it’s like new. Magic.