Dear Flare,
First of all there are plenty of really cheap cabochons available to practice with here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Jewellery-M...36/bn_16569511.
They will give you a far more realistic way to practice than just random pebbles.
Secondly the width of strip needed to set commonly used sizes is around 2.0mm, so you will need to do some work there. The ideal is that the strip is only just high enough without bunching at the top when pressed home.
That said, the stone can be raised a little by inserting a jump ring, a disk, or a very shot tube, untilit looks right.
Lastly 0.75 mm is far too thick for setting unaided by a hammer, so the metal needs to be thinned considerably, ideally to around 0.4mm for a beginner.
If you do not have many tools, this might be achieved by annealing and stretching repeatedly, between two pairs of pliers,
You say you do not have any callipers, but for me they are a very important tool for anything related to stone setting. Even these very cheap ones would do;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283301696571 Dennis.
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