195 should leave you somewhere in normal operating range. Even on the new vehicles with 195's the needle has an awful long ways to go to hit "H". I've gone from a 180 to 190 and the needle only changed 1 needle width position at the most.

It almost sounds like the gauge re-builder might have the temp "clocked" in the wrong position.

Boil a cup of water in your microwave and put the sending unit in it and see where it's at. Invest a few dollars into an after market gauge with numbers and give things a double-check. Might be saving yourself a cracked head/block if the gauge re-build is spot-on.