Flush set ring - feedback and advice pls

[TDA20]

Hello everyone,

So I thought I'd have a go at flush setting. After practicing on a piece of flat copper I dived in with a silver band ring.
My first mistake was that I forgot to anneal it again after forming the ring and the metal wouldn't move over! Annealed it and made a bigger hole for a different stone (the sapphire) and seem to have salvaged the situation.

Other than practice, any tips on how you keep the setting looking neat? I used radials to tidy up but before that it was a scratch fest!

Also, as Dennis mentioned in a previous post, keeping the depth the same for each stone is a real challenge; as is getting the little blighters to sit flat and not tilt as they go in.

All feedback welcome x