[artwhim]

Pictures of your attempts would help to identify the issue. If you keep the Maria consistent when melting and pressing then the lens should already be well placed, it’s just a matter of how much clear you cut off from the rod and melt down. Once you cut off the rod and the piece is on a punty, just be careful where you direct the heat so you melt the lens but don’t distort the flat side of the Maria.

I usually punty to the back side of the Maria when I cut off the rod to make the lens, then once the lens is done I punty the bottom and break off the first punty, which allows me to work on the bail. Once the bail is done I either hold the piece in looped tweezers to break off the bottom punty and fire polish the punty mark, or sometimes let the piece dangle from the tungsten pick and finish it that way. I like switching punties because each successive step requires less heat, so I can use a smaller attachment area that is faster to polish out.