You hit the point Debi!
That's the way I make cheese since I started. I'm trying to stay close to the origin as much as I can. I don't use industrial starter cultures, I don't own a pH meter and I'll never buy one. The people who started making cheese didn't have one either, nor a thermometer. The point is that earlier, people who started the cheese making, made only one type of cheese and that was mastered by them. We, smart a...s, want to make every cheese ever made, so, we have not much choice but to imitate industrial procedures. As Pavel said, the time the cheese is a home made one and we eat it (not just for the sake of not tossing it), this is a very pleasing achievement as a hobbyist. IMHO, it's not a must to exactly reproduce the same time of cheese each time we make it. Let's make it for fun, as for me, being threatend all the time by those scary pH readings, is very discouraging. Salting (especially over salting) was the only issue I had to master and today I am on the right track.
So, new cheese makers, start making cheese with the most simple and minimal equipment, it worth it.