Good job AJ, you have the technique down pat, so sorry to hear about the "accident"! So many great tips here!
I was feeling depressed about not being able to torch in the cold weather, and this has given me something to do, yay! So I tried it with the only copper wire I could find, which was 20 gauge. Kind of hard for a first-time try though, and I used a magic marker as my dowel, lol, but I did it. Now I guess I will have to make or buy a plate to pull it through.
One question... Can you put copper in Liver Of Sulphur to patina it? I want everything to look older than me.
