I have a job with a lot of downtime. I build all my pedals and do the business end at work in my lab where other girls knit or doomscroll. I couldn't imagine doing this in my actual free time, or at home. It buys me a new car every couple of years but it is still pure hobby for me.
You should be at unity volume after noon on the volume pot. And the Carbon Black gets plenty loud. Some vintage fuzzes were not designed to boost, but most should.
They are splayed that way to allow the spring tension to hold them in place before soldering. Mostly for benefiting automatic processes. Most ICs globally are not socketed.