When we did chocolate tempering we weren't even allowed to use a thermometer.
It's easier when you melt the chocolate just enough so that some of it is still solid and start stirring. Or if the chocolate is totally melted and warm, add enough small solid pieces to make it thick like there is no way it's going to melt itself. start stirring.
Chocolate tempers BELOW the working temperature, so you have to bring it down down down and stir it until you can see surface tension happening. Meaning: if you move your spoon ever so slightly in the center of the bowl, you should see the chocolate ripple nearly all the way to the edges as all of the stable crystals are connecting as it tempers. Like a big chocolate net.
THEN you bring it up to working temperature with a heat gun until it is glossy and around body temperature (touch it, it might be slightly warm or you feel nothing at all). If there are streaks along the surface, it's likely to be too cold and while it might be "tempered" it will look streaky after setting.
Dribble chocolate on a metal spatula and if it's right, it should have good surface tension (it will look more rounded, untempered will be runny and flat... maybe even redder) and it should set quickly
