I’ve refined my string art process a lot. Here is my latest work station.

I use a “lazy Susan for televisions” to spin the piece, bringing the number to my hand rather than searching for the number. It cuts the cognitive load in half, easily. And also solves the strain on my back from doing it the old way. (In the photo I have lifted the piece to better show the lazy Susan) I use a button on the floor to push the “down” button to see the next line in the excel file I create, so my hands don’t need to shift positions to see the next set of numbers. This is 12mm plywood, so a guitar clip works great to hold the string where I stopped off. Finally, I sandwich my thread spool between two roller blade wheels so that it turns easily on the bearings. If it’s over spinning, I just put it a little off center so it doesn’t come out as smoothly but it also doesn’t over spin. Finally the string passes through a loop of aluminum wire as a guide before coming into my hands. Hope someone can get good ideas from this, or share some of their solutions!