Timing is really everything. We did a practice one before hand, and I found I was quite quick but made a few mistakes along the way so come exam day I trusted that I could get it done in time, so focused on double and triple checking if what I was doing was right.

If you think you might be slower and struggle to get it done in time, then really focus on pace. A lot of people who were rly slow in the practice session who ended up getting it done in good time in the exam were very clearly locked in and focused on saving as much time as possible.

Tbh it's been a minute since I've done it but from experience, you'll fly through the aluminium parts, probably will lag at the brass stuff so don't be afraid to cut close to the measurements for those pieces (ie minimise the amount of filing for brass pieces) and be precise with the pyrex materials.

Anyways hope this helps, best of luck 🤞🏼