Paddles: Tool used in flameworking consisting of a graphite block attached to a handle. Used to roll hot glass against to shape or marver.
Paint: (for glass) A mixture of finely ground glass, metallic oxides and a liquid mixing agent, such as water and gum arabic, used for painting on glass. It has to be fired for permanent adhesion.
Palladian Window: A window with three panels, the center panel being wider, with an arched top.
Pane: A piece of flat sheet glass used for glazing windows.
Panel: Unit of stained glass leaded together and made to fit an opening in the framework of a window. May be of any shape.
Parison (French, paraison): A gather, on the end of a blowpipe, which is already partly inflated. Pick-up decoration A technique whereby a hot parison is rolled in chips of glass, which are picked up, marvered, and inflated.
Pantograph: Instrument for enlarging or reducing a primary drawing.
Patina: A chemical solution applied to the solder or lead to create a different color. Common colors include black, copper, bronze, pewter, green, and antique brass.
Pattern: (1) A template from which the glass pieces are cut in a stained glass work. (2) The overall design or cartoon for a stained glass work.
Pattern Shears: A special three bladed scissor designed specifically for cutting apart patterns in copper foil or lead came construction. The extra blade removes a strip between pieces to accommodate either the width of the came heart or copper foil.
Pivoted Window: A window that swings open on pivots at the top and bottom.
Plate: In lamp work , the top support of the lamp by which it hangs, in a hanging lamp, or is braced if it is a table lamp. Plates may be complete coverings or partial coverings such as straps. Straps can be crisscross or single, depending on the weight of the lamp and the designer.
Plate Glass: Clear window glass that exceeds 3Ž16" in thickness
Plating: Putting a second piece of glass over a portion of a panel to alter the color, or for reinforcing old glass.
PMC: Precious Metal Clay is a special clay used in jewelry making. It is either silver or gold metal in a clay form that can be shaped and molded and then fired in a torch or kiln to produce a solid silver or gold piece.
Points: Small flat triangles of zinc used to hold glass in a wooden window sash.
Poise: A cgs absolute unit of viscosity that is equal to one dyne-second per square centimeter.
Polishing: Smoothing the surface of an object when it is cold by holding it against a rotating wheel fed with a fine abrasive. Glass can also be polished with hand-held tools.
Pontil, Pontil Mark: The pontil, or punty, is a solid metal rod that is usually tipped with a wad of hot glass, then applied to the base of a vessel to hold it during manufacture. It often leaves an irregular or ring-shaped scar on the base when removed. This is called the "pontil mark."
Pot: A fire clay container placed in the furnace in which the batch of glass ingredients is fused, and kept molten. The glass worker gathers directly from the pot.
Pot Metal: Medieval term for the molten glass "batch" that was heated in a large pot and metallic oxides were added for color.
Potash: Potassium carbonate. It is an alternative to soda as a source of alkali in the manufacture of glass.
Pounce Bag: Small cloth bag filled with whiting used as a stencil
Presbytery: The east end of the church housing the altar.
Pressed Glass: Glassware formed by placing a blob of molten glass in a metal mold, then pressing it with a metal plunger or "follower" to form the inside shape. The resultant piece, termed "mold-pressed," has an interior form independent of the exterior, in contrast to mold-blown glass, whose interior corresponds to the outer form. The process of pressing glass was first mechanized in the United States between 1820 and 183 0.
Prunt: A blob of glass applied to a glass object as decoration, but also to afford a firm grip in the absence of a handle.
Punty: A solid metal rod that is usually tipped with a wad of hot glass, then applied to the base of a vessel to hold it during manufacture. It often leaves an irregular or ring-shaped scar on the base when removed. This is called the "pontil mark."
Pyrometer: The temperature gauge on a kiln.
The sources for this material include:
•Glass: A Pocket Dictionary of Terms Commonly Used to Describe Glass and Glassmaking.
Compiled by David Whitehouse, 88 pp., 47 illus., 1993
•How to Work in Stained Glass. Anita & Seymour Isenberg, 247 pp., 1972
•Stained Glass Lamps. Anita & Seymour Isenberg, 222 pp., 1972
•The Techniques of Stained Glass. Partrick Reyntiens, 168 pp. 1977
•The Coming Museum Website: www.cmog.org
• The Stained Glass Association of America Website: www.stainedglass.org
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