After a lot of floundering, determined a reasonably effective way of desoldering thru-hole components. Insert the board inverted in a vice and heat them up while pushing the exposed pin down thru the hole. A solder wick is useful to remove the bulk of the solder before attempting to push the leads thru.
Manufactured the CH224K Breakout. It's mostly finished. The connections have been tested with a multimeter and are sound. The PCB was etched with ferric chloride and then drilled. The CH224K was then soldered to the Board. 
The rightmost breadboard was replaced and all of the components were replaced into another breadboard. The encoder section of the circuit (leftmost breadboard) had 10k resistors removed and the signals from the encoder had more fidelity. The encoder signals were routed to the 74LS00 (which acts as an isolation to the MCU and an inversion) and the output of those are connected to the Atmega328P. The Code was then updated and we have a visible reading from the seven segment displays. But not everything is working. The Segment displays do not output a live reading from the enocder very well. 
Designed a stackable case to contain various electronics for prototyping. The idea is that these small containers can be stacked on top of eachother on a desk, or shelf. 
Designed a Resistor Holder for convenience when prototyping on a breadboard. It's easier than opening a plastic bag to get the resistors. 
Took a AI generated Company quiz on the Max7219 Datasheet found here: https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/max7219-max7221.pdf Achieved satisfactory results. This was done to demonstrate competency (if not mastery) over the max7219 segment driver chip.
Read 62 pages of Computer Organization and Design 5th Edition by Patterson and Hennessy. And Read 38 pages of Microwave and RF Design Radio Systems volume I 3rd Edition by Michael Steer.
Got bit-banged I2C working on the ch32v003, which was a massive headache, around 800 bytes in the binary. Still way easier than using the built in I2C peripheral. And it allows use of any pins, which is good. Also realized that the WCH LinkE programmer can provide 5V as well as 3.3, which is very good to know. 
Created the ex04_adc and ex05_pwm ch32v003 template assembly programs. Updated the documentation entry in the microcontroller sandbox.
Concepted out Hackaday contest entry, a gravity powered curtain opener/closer. Designed four simple components in 3D that allow weights tied to the center hole of the -005 components to sequentially slide out of a carriage assembly and thereby draw the curtains opened and closed. The -007 slider is connected either to some servo or a bimetallic strip. As it slides inside the -008 channel, at either extreme, it makes an opening for the next -005 sliding component to fall by gravity out of the carriage. A frame will be necessary to hold the -008 and -006 components in relative position, as well as the motion input system. 
Created barebones documentation entry in project repository.
Only burned myself 15 times while soldering and assembling the final modified TL902. It does seem to work pretty well. It manages to get over 220F and the potentiometer enables you to select a different max temperature. I used polyamide tape to secure everything in place on the inside. However the side brackets are beginning to melt at those higher temperatures, so attempts will be made to cast from a high temp polyurethane resin instead. See video. 
Drew, etched, and soldered the electrical modification board for the thermistor resistance. Was able to do it in less than 30 minutes while streaming, which is pretty quick. 
Abstracted out specific addresses and values to a definition file for the ch32v003 assembly code. Adapted the ex02 blink program and created an ex03 for SDI (serial debug interface) data printing to a connected computer console. Updated the documentation entry in the microcontroller sandbox.
Finished reading (175 pages) the non-project section of The Home Machinist's Handbook by Doug Briney. A very good introduction to machine work using Sherline tools. 
Got ch32v003 dev board to run an assembly code version of blink without the ch32v003fun bloat. Very easy and way more clear in my opinion. Created the documentation entry in the microcontroller sandbox.
Got ch32v003 dev board to run slightly modified sample blink routine using ch32v003fun libs. Was trying to do it with less bloat but was unsuccessful. Will try again later. 
Rebuilt the laminator using the new side brackets and, although they were not perfect (in reality the lower pin on the motor side bracket needs to be adjusted slightly, though it works as is), and resoldered all the connections after threading the wires through the printed pieces. The motion system works perfectly as intended. See video of it in action. 
Updated design for left-hand bracket per fitment test of previous iteration. Prints should complete overnight. There is no need to actually bond these two together, as they will be clamped together in the assembly. Likely won't need to print/source new gears, as the existing ones seem to mesh fine with the greater separation distance. 
Updated mary-bot to automatically report pentecost-pursuit progress on a daily basis at midnight.
Incorporated design iterations in 43001-002 and divided into an upper/lower half to facilitate printing. 
Added 2 tsp of sodium hydroxide to 500 mL of water to dissolve off the hardened photoresist on the test panel. It only took a few minutes. The only remnant was the oxidation that built on the exposed areas. 
"Fixed" the printer problem from last night by leaving the lid open. The right-hand bracket does seem to fit all the components perfectly, though the top pegs can be thickened, though they currently match the original part. Designed and printed left-hand bracket piece, without stepper motor standoffs. 
Revised right-hand roller support bracket to improve fitment and modeled left-hand bracket. Left-hand bracket needs mounting holes as well as standoffs to mate with the motor bracket. Had printer issues related to the thermistor while trying to print. I think it's some connectivity problem and am working to fix. 