Colleen, I made the numbers out of square wire, hardened them with the rawhide mallet, then held them to a flat piece of fine grit sandpaper and rubbed in circles – nipped teeny tiny bits of solder, dabbed the backs of the numbers with Rubyflux, stuck the solder bits to that, then stuck them to the brass with the Rubyflux (which has a texture like sticky soft wax.) Then grit my teeth, lit the torch and stroked until the solder flowed, and the numbers just sucked right down. I was afraid of loosening the solder holding the brass in place, but looks like I was careful enough that everything worked. Instead of pickling, I rubbed with Klingspor P400 paper to soften the edges and bring everything down into a softer look before buffing and polishing.

My sanding and buffing paper are cut from the discards of my “adopted brother” who’s a knifemaker, when he uses up a grinding belt it’s still good enough for my copper and brass work. I was up late finishing his son’s 13th birthday present, you can see it here:
plus.google.com/u/0/110247016739428907151/posts/iaQDgAJxyBU

Once again, thank you for the good wishes! Best to everyone.

…Blanche

Great job!!