Column packing

[still livin]

Searched this topic and found some info but I still have questions, using a simple pot still with 2" copper column about 12" long and I bought a roll of copper mesh for packing. Questions are do I just cut offl enough to stuff the rest of the roll in the column and do I have to worry about packing too tight? Should I push the packing all the way to the top? I've ran a couple of runs & now I want to try an experiment to see what if any difference packing will do.