Glossary of Tools & Equipment for Glassblowing

Rev. 6/23/94 6/25/99 12/2/99

A listing of useful tools and equipment for glassblowing and where to get them. The glossary is preceded by a brief description of a glassblowing session with links to the following alphabetical listing . Addresses of places mentioned more than once are at end. Additions and suggestions are welcome.

The creation of an object commonly begins by taking the pipe from the pipe heater where it has been preheated so the glass will stick, opening the door to the furnace , tipping the rod at an angle into the glass while turning it and pulling out a gather of glass. Keeping the pipe turning to maintain an even shape of glass, the glass worker most commonly goes to a marver to roll gather into a blunt cone on the flat surface. Using breath a small bubble is started in the center of the glass and enlarged to the size the worker desires. (The primary glassworker is called a gaffer from an old word for grandfather, but I am not using the term here because when a team is working glass, any of the workers, not just the gaffer, may marver and otherwise work the glass.)

When the glass is shaped, it is allowed to cool further. This both assures that the shape will not collapse when molten glass is gathered around it and increases the amount of glass that can be picked up in the second gather.

Many pieces start with an additional step. The worker heats the end of the pipe, but rather than gathering the glass, it is picked up as a short cylinder preheated in a color kiln. The old glass on the pipe is usually enough to stick the pickup. The preheated color is softened in the gloryhole and marvered to shape as described above. As glass is gathered over it, the color forms the inner lining of the piece and colors the whole piece. When desired, two or more chunks of glass may be worked this way.

After the second gather, the worker normally has enough glass that a change of techniques is required, although returning to the marver to shape the second and even third gather is used by some workers.

Most workers will go to the bench and use wooden blocks or a pad of newspaper to block or shape the glass. If further gathers are to be made, the object is to control the shape of the piece including the thickness of the glass. Again the piece will be worked and cooled to stiffen the shape to permit more glass to be gathered. During gathering, steps may be taken that are part of the design, where the design calls for color within the glass. This may include threading, picking up bubbles. The bubble inside the glass may be enlarged during the gathering. The glass may be selectively chilled (on the sides or the bottom) to cause more glass to be gathered there or to encourage the bubble to move into the hotter area. During gathering, the worker may drain excess glass just gathered to form a thinner smooth layer around the piece.

At some point enough glass has been gathered to make the piece. The next step is normally to use jacks to narrow a neck on the piece near the end of the pipe. This is the point where the piece will separate from the pipe. The piece is taken back to the glory hole for reheating. The glory hole is usually maintained at a temperature higher than the furnace, so it reheats the glass quickly. Because the glass near the pipe is behind the rest of the piece (in the shadow) it may take several reheats to jack the line properly, so other work may be done as the jacking proceeds.

During this stage, the worker may use other jacks, other blocks, the newspaper, the paddles, and the marver to form the piece. A co-worker may kneel at the end of the pipe on the bench and blow in the pipe as it rolls (a fun task), blowing while the gaffer applies shaping pressure with the paper, etc. (A gaffer, especially working alone, may also use an air hose over the mouth piece to apply air pressure while the pipe is on the bench, using breath or low pressure compressed air.)

Gravity and centrifugal force may be used. If the pipe is pointed down while turning, the piece will tend to lengthen; while pointing it up will shorten. If the pipe is swung back and forth or (spectacularly in demonstrations) swung completely overhead the piece will stretch and thin, doing more so near the neck (because more glass is pulling from further out.)

The worker is mostly working on the lower half of the piece. Steps the worker might take include using an optic or other mold to impress a pattern or shape on the glass and using various techniques to add color including threading and rolling the piece in frit or powder .

The last step before taking the piece off the pipe is finishing the bottom where the punty will be attached. Normally this involves flattening the bottom and adding any foot or feet desired. It may also involve adding a pad of glass (cookie) to keep the bottom from breaking out when the piece is puntied.

The most critical step in working the glass is getting the piece off the pipe and onto the punty The problem is rooted in the desire later on to remove the punty with little scarring and as little cold working as possible. The artist or assistant gathers a small amount of glass on the punty and quickly marvers it to shape, usually a blunt cone. The glass is then usually touched to some surface to chill it and pattern its surface. The goal is to make a good enough but not TOO good connection to the glass. If the connection is not good enough the piece will fall off the punty. The first and perhaps most likely time for this to occur is when the pipe is rapped to crack it free.

If the worker has successfully jacked the piece and properly tempered and attached the punty, when the pipe is rapped with a hard tool, the piece parts cleanly and without much shock. If the punty glass is too hot, there may be a bit of frantic turning and twisting of the punty to keep the piece centered and in place. Most commonly, the gaffer places the punty tip while an assistant holds the rod level. The gaffer then raps the pipe when everything seems right and the assistant catches the piece and takes it immediately to the glory hole. Commonly, the gaffer follows the assistant and takes the punty while handing the pipe to the assistant who puts it in the crackoff bin while the gaffer turns the piece in the glory hole. Notice that the end of the piece going in the glory hole has been determinedly chilled for the past several minutes so it will crack free and now it must be heated up to soft working temperature while keeping the rest of the piece tepid or at least firm.. It is possible that the end has gotten so cold that it cracks in error so it should be taken into the gloryhole moderately.

When the piece is pulled from the glory hole it is time to work on the rim and upper body of the piece. If the piece has been necked severely, the inner hole may be too small and it must be worked open with pick or tweezers. In more ordinary work, the jacks are used with the blades parallel to form a broader working surface to turn the rim open. Many glassworkers next pick up duckbill shears to trim away excess glass and shape the lip. Trimming is normally done with very soft glass and at the bottom as the piece is turned, so the scrap falls toward the floor and does not mar the piece. On goblets and thin pieces, the goal may be to remove the thicker or uneven glass at the jack point. On a pitcher, the goal may be to provide the profile that will yield a projecting lip.

Frequently these days, a lip wrap of contrasting color is added. Continuing work shapes the top of the piece, perhaps the size being gauged to match a lid previously made or to allow for a stopper. With an assistant or alone, additional bits are added for decoration and for handles. During this time, the worker will return the piece to the glory hole to keep it from cracking. A torch may be used to apply heat to the bottom of the piece and/or the punty glass when trying to heat this area in the glory hole would soften the rest of the piece too much.

When the piece is complete, the next critical step is to remove it from the punty, which requires that the punty glass be removed without taking out the bottom of the piece. If the punty was applied properly, removing the piece is merely a matter of chilling the join, usually with a thin knife edge. If the worker has any doubts about the separation, a number of tricks/techniques exist to encourage the break to occur in the punty glass and not in the piece. They must be applied quickly as the glass is cooling rapidly and unevenly.

The piece is normally removed with a sharp rap to the punty. What happens to the piece depends on the worker and the piece. Some pieces can be placed in the annealer by holding the punty vertically, lowering the piece to a fraction of an inch above the annealler floor, and rapping. Gloves are available which will withstand the 800-1000°F heat for a short time. The worker may hold the piece over a padded drop table and crack off onto that and then use gloves to move the piece into the annealer while positioning it as desired. With an assistant, the gloves can be used to catch the piece (usually above the crack off table for insurance) at the rap and carry it to the annealler. With large pieces of glass, the assistant will be garbed in full silver fire fighting reflective gear.

With the piece in the annealler, it is likely that members of the team and any audience will applaud the success, especially if it is a large tricky piece. The various tools and pipes are arranged for working the next piece and it begins again. The piece will soak in the annealler for an hour or more (often to the end of the day) and then will be annealed (cooled slowly) so the glass is as free of stress as possible. For ordinary glass pieces, the temperature is reduced from about 900°F to about 600°F over 6-8 hours in a controlled way and then allowed to cool to near room temperature over 3-4 hours.

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Alphabetical Glossary Start
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Air hose & compressor

Most glass workers use air from their mouth to gently form glass although a very low pressure (5 pounds or less) compressed air source may be used. The device most often sold to assist this is surgical tubing (a very soft light brown color) and an elbow swivel that allows the pipe to rotate when the hose is attached. Besides the hose, an adaptor is needed to fit over the mouth piece. I made mine from short pieces of clear soft vinyl tubing, which I forced inside each other to change from the small tubing on the swivel to the large diameter of the pipe. Some artists use low pressure air with their puffer

Annealer

Controlled temperature oven, usually electric, for cooling glass at a controlled rate to relieve strain than will break glass cooled quickly. Usually built by worker as volume is needed and temperature range is relatively low (900-500.) Needs controller. See fire brick and ceramic board, fiber & blanket

Batch

Glass can melted from cullet (ca) or be made from a mixture of chemicals, mostly sand. Batch can be mixed by the worker or bought. Most commonly used bought batch is from Spruce Pine Batch Co., Highway 19E, P. O. Box 159, Spruce Pine NC 28777, 704-765-9876. Mixing batch requires care as many ingredients are poisonous or lung damaging.

Bee's Wax

Used to lubricate jacks and other tools. From fabric stores or use a candle. Carnuba wax is harder.

Bench

A glass worker's bench is most commonly a steel framed long armed chair with a wooden seat that extends beyond the arms on both sides. Below the arms are metal shields to protect the legs of the worker from the heat of the glass. The pipe or punty is placed on the arms and rolled out and back to keep the glass in a smooth round shape while working it. On the extended seat are placed metal tools, which may also hang on nails driven in the edge, and behind the seat are often buckets of water holding blocks and wooden tools.
A bench is a personal choice and may be built from wood with steel rails or may be built with sloping arms. I use one that I stand before with the arms at waist level and the tools underneith the arms, having a bad back, I stand all the time rather than standing then sitting. I also find it easier to get around the end of pieces and place the punty. Some workers omit the bench and its arms and work glass on ball bearing rollers.

Blocks

Blocks are chunks of fruitwood, most commonly cherry but also pear and apple, which are carved to a shape useful in forming glass and then soaked in water until waterlogged. The steam from the water and the carbon that forms on the surface makes a durable tool. Usually will crack if allowed to dry out. Wooden rods and paddles are also used the same way. Walter Evans makes blocks for many studios. **

Blowpipe

see Pipe

Cane Marver

A marver (ca) with grooves for spacing cane evenly to pickup on hot glass. Hard to make without a metal milling machine, usually bought: Steinart $60 Aluminum, $95 iron

for heating.

Ceramic fiber blanket, board & paper

Modern industrial high temperature insulation to replace much more dangerous asbestos. Available in several forms and several temperature ranges.

Cold Working

The general name for sandblasting, grinding and polishing the glass. While many artists use the procedures of cold working as part of their artistic creation, most would prefer to avoid the labor intensive process of grinding off punty marks and polishing the result.

Color bars

Glassblowers using moderate amounts of color in their glass buy bars of concentrated colored glass about 1" in diameter and a foot long. This is cut in smaller chunks and melted, crushed or pulled. Sold by the kilo for a full bar, cost is effectively $1-3 per inch ($17-48 per kilo.) Those using more color tend to melt their own to reduce cost.

Color crusher

Usually a heavy-walled steel pipe with a close fitting thick steel disk with a handle. Chunks of glass are put in the tube, the disk placed on top and the handle pounded with a hammer or just used like a mortar. Produces dust or small chunks (frit.)

Color cutter

To get color bar into usable sizes, a cold chisel and hammer will work, often scattering expensive sharp pieces. A commercial cutter is a guillotine like frame with a holder for the glass that tries to keep things under control.

Color oven or kiln

Any small kiln (or corner of the annealer) used for preheating chunks of color bars to allow pickup without cracking. Copper enamelling supplier or build, needs very simple temperature control. Usually has a blackboard near it to plot layout of various colors which may look identical.

Cone

Typically 7" long, 3" dia., with handle, Paoli $30. Wood or graphite, for opening glass shapes and providing a variable sized round tool for working the glass.

Crackoff bin/bucket

At the end of use of pipes and punties there is usually glass around the end. This glass will normally break and shatter off as it cools, fired with enough force to hurt people. Therefore the tools are left in metal (heat proof) buckets or dry bins that capture the glass. Normally punties have less glass and are placed in water filled buckets (stainless steel food service buckets are especially nice). If a pipe is placed in water without sealling the end, the steam inside almost instantly makes the pipe too hot to hold, so pipe are put it steel barrels or flat bins. All crackoff catchers also used to dump mistakes, broken pieces and scrap glass.

Cullet

Broken glass, which melts easier than batch. Can be remains of previous work, bottles, or purchased. The latter two may need chemical additions to make more workable. Available from Gabbert Cullet.

Diamond Shears

Special pliers with a sharp diamond shaped opening for cutting hot bits and, usually, a round opening at the tip for controlling punties, pulling glass, etc. From ca Shears

Fire brick

A brick made to withstand high temperatures, costing more the higher the temperature, from $1.50 to $20 a brick. Usually very hard and heavy, a poor insulator. Available in many shapes. Used for furnaces mostly. See also Fire brick, Insulating. From A.P.Green, Mexico MO and local offices, National Refractory, see Refractory in Yellow Pages..

Fire brick, Insulating

A very light, soft, easily cut, high temperature material than can form structural walls and backup hard fire brick.

Frit

Chunks of broken glass the size of raisins to grape nuts, bigger than powder. Can be bought, for smaller quantities, usually made with crusher if color bar is on hand.

Fuming Chamber

A barrel or box with an exhaust fan and filter, used for applying chemical effects to the surface of the glass, when the fumes or dust are potentially poisonous.

Furnace

Place for melting glass, built of several kinds of high temperature (refractory) materials to hold the glass and hold in the heat without breaking down during the several months that furnaces usually run. See also Tank, Pot Furnace, and Refractory.

Gadget

A tool for holding the foot of a glass, so a punty does not have to be used, speeding work. (GGW) a tube with three spring steel "fingers" that extend. May also be a special tool for a specific shape, as inside a production vase for footing (GGNJ)

Garage

During the working of glass, it is sometimes useful to park the glass at annealing temperature (about 900øF), until some other work is done. While this can be done in an annealler, having a smaller space with specially designed doors can be useful in that it avoids damage to glass in the annealler and can allow glass still on the pipe or punty to park in the garage, the pipe extending through a split door.

Gloves

Hot shops normally require two kinds of gloves: leather welding gloves for handling ordinary hot materials and ceramic fiber/kelvar for handling hot solid glass in the 600-1000°F. The latter are fairly fragile, should be preheated to drive off moisture and reduce thermal shock, and should not be used for tough jobs. They cost about $60 a pair.

Glory Hole

A place for reheating glass. In commercial shops may be in side of furnace, but in small shops is usually a separate structure. Usually hotter than holding temperature of glass furnace and shut off overnight while furnace is cooking. Usually shop built from a barrel with castable or fiber or framed with bricks.

Glory Hole and Yoke in use at Zero Gravity, encased furnace in background.

Hanger, Pipe Hanger

Used to hold a pipe/punty vertically with the glass below, to center and cool glass and act as an extra hand. A V-shaped slot at about head height. Most pipes and punties are provided with a hanger collar around the shaft near the handle. The hanger must have a tapered shaped opening for various sized pipes and project enough from the support so a large piece will not hit. Cooling of paperweights in particular, so the surface will not be scarred by handling or the annealer, may take five minutes or more. Homemade from scrap.

Hanger Ring

See Hanger

Jacks

A hairpin shaped tool that springs open and when closed has long blades that are parallel about 12-15" long used for shaping glass. All parts of the tool are used by skilled glass workers, but the blades get the most use closing in the narrow neck of the piece on the pipe and working the opening of lips. Blades may be nearly knife edged or rounded. Jacks are also made to hold round (replaceable) paper or wood "blades"

Jim Moore is considered to make the best in the US, about $150; the Itallian Dino is supposed to make the best in the world, $250, buy through Pilchuck.

Kiln

Kiln is an alternate name for oven. A color kiln or annealing oven may be refered to with the other name.

Lehr

A mechanized annealing oven that is at high heat at one end and air temp or nearly so at the other. A conveyer carries glass pieces the length over the time needed for annealing. Saves the energy of reheating and the wear and tear of a heat/cool cycle that an oven requires, but only cost effective in a heavy production shop. Sometimes lehr is used as just as a name for a cooling oven.

Marver

Metal, marble or graphite plate, most often steel, used for rolling glass to a cylinder or cone and chilling the surface to firm it for blowing. Should be large enough to roll largest piece over a more than one turn (over 2' for 8" piece) Some marvers are mounted at an angle or are adjustable to an angle which makes for easier work when many pieces are to be made with a tapered shape. A marver may have textured surface (see also Cane Marver . ) Homemade $10-35 from steel scrap yard, or Steinert $75 textured 16" long.

Stephen Powell using marver to pickup colored murrini on hot glass at GAS Conf.

Mold

A wet or dry form for shaping glass. Dry forms can be metal, plaster, clay or wood. Wet are wood. Dry forms may have carbon (from acetyline flame) on the inside.
The most widely used molds are thick cherry wood bowls, often with handles, used for providing the primary shape when blowing and for paperweights. Since the bowl size constantly changes as the wood burns out in use, small bowls become larger. Other fruitwood may be used.
A variety of other molds are used for blowing into, usually they are on the floor and the worker stands over them, then are split to open and remove the glass.

Newspaper

Used for shaping glass when formed, wetted and held in the hand, to replace a mold or block. Most often made from 4-5 sheets of full page newspaper, folded first in thirds, then the long ends are tucked into each other and the corners cut off for flexibility. The result is flattened and water soaked then drained just before use. The water keeps the paper from burning and the shape is controlled by the shape of the hand. People who like wood blocks often hate newspaper while those who use newspaper think wood is inflexible and expensive. According the legend, the paper of the New York Times is especially good.

Optic

A cylinder, open or closed on the bottom, with even ridges around the inside, used to produce optical effects and air stems. Chills glass which can then be twisted, etc., and pattern remains in glass. Also used for applying threads of color, which are carefully laid inside the optic before the glass inserted. Usually aluminum, almost impossible to home make, Steinert offers two dozen varieties at $45-100. Almost anything with an even pattern inside (a spline in a gear) can be used.

Paddles

Fruit wood, usually cherry, boards with handles, sometimes graphite. Used for flattening glass and for shielding gaffer's arm. Homemade $5 stock at hardwood/woodworkers shop. A.R.T.Co $8-14, Paoli $15. Graphite: Moore $40, Paoli $35.

Pick

Most glassworkers have a sharp pointed pick, often bent at a right angle at one end and straight at the other. It may be a commercial scribe or be hand made. It is used to open tiny holes nothing else will get in and to draw threading in the feathering technique.

Pipe, blowpipe

Tube with mouth piece on one end, used for picking up glass on other end, usually made of low conductive stainless steel today. Can be as simple as 1/4" IPS pipe, but usually is a thin wall 5/8"-3/4" tube with a tapered metal or plastic mouthpiece and a nearly solid flared pickup end for better glass support.

Used for blowing glass, usually made these days of stainless steel. While most of the pipe is thin wall tube, the end that takes the glass is usually turned from heavy rod to a shape flared with a small hole (thus being very thick walled at the end) to provide support for pieces and to make it easier to form the initial bubble. The other end is usually a tapered metal or plastic mouthpiece with moderately thick walls and a small hole. $20 homemade to $150 Steinert.

Pipe Hanger

See Hanger

Pipe Cooler

A method of quickly applying water to a pipe which has gotten too hot to handle. Can range from a wet rag to a dedicated spray tube with a foot switch, but the most common pipe cooler seems to be V shaped box with holes in the bottom, notches on the bottom of the ends to fit the pipe, and a handle across the top. It is sunk in a barrel of water to fill, removed, the pipe laid across the barrel, the cooler placed and moved back and forth on the pipe until the water drains out. Wet rags or tubing with pumped water can also serve. Homemade

Pipe Warmer

Molten glass will not stick to cold metal. While it is possible to preheat the pipes and punties at furnace or glory hole, most studios have a rack to hold them in position in a dedicated flame or the exhaust from furnace or glory hole (or at the glory hole door in cheap situations.) Ideally, the warmer has a range of temperatures so placement of a punty with glass color on it will neither drip or chill to cracking, so the gather of color can be reused.

Pot Furnace

One using a crucible (pot) for melting glass. Pot furnaces are used in art studios and some factories and for melting small (10-20#) or large (150-250#) quantities of color. Pots are always batch mode: cullet or batch glass is added and must be melted before working can begin. Pots may be invested in insulation or free standing in the furnace. (see also Tank ) Homemade

Powder Cup

Colored powder is applied to hot glass by rolling the glass in a layer of the color. The layer may be on the marver or in a metal pie pan, but many artists like to use a brass or aluminum molded color cup to hold the powder (and move it out of the way) and shape the glass. One interesting alternative is to use the heavy metal scoops used for ice and other institutional food products; one artist used insulating castable to mold several hollows in which to set the scoops and allow them to be changed out.

Puffer

An aluminum cone drilled to fit on a straight or bent tube, used to shape and open bubbles of glass. Steinert $50; Moore $30, 45; Homemade cast from aluminum cans with copper pipe $10. May be used with breath or low pressure air.

Punty

A solid tipped rod, with hollow or solid shaft, to take glass from pipe so the lip can be worked and for paperweights. Also used for gathering glass for hot bits of various shapes. Usually 54" long like pipes, 1/2" tip most common. Homemade from surplus solid rod $5-8. Solid: A.R.T.Co. $26. Hollow:

Refractory

Any material that withstands the high heat needed for melting glass, the two most common being clay and ceramic fiber substances. Special clays fire up to form bricks that do not deform in the heat. If previously fired clay (grog) and organic material is added to the mix, insulating firebrick is created by the empty spaces in the fired clay. Ceramic fiber is a result of space research and insulates. Two other refractories, known to gardeners, and sometimes used as insulation are vermiculite, which is expanded mica from volcanic regions and perlite, which is made in some way.

Shears

Like tin snips, available with various shaped cutting edges, straight, duckbill, etc., used for trimming the lip and otherwise cutting away glass. ca Diamond Shears Putsch $32, Steinert $85, Moore $50

Shield

Protection from heat. Most glass workers who do not use long sleeved shirts pull a cotton sock with the toe end open over their arm when working bigger pieces. Wooden paddles held by other workers and full fledged flame gear are also used. Many workers put some kind of upright shield at the glory hole for body protection and to control ventilation and may shield yokes and hand tools. Most benches have a metal panel on the right arm to shield the gaffer's leg.

Support

When wrapping glass, as well as other times, a simple support is needed to keep a punty steady, so a couple of T supports are handy to have around. Homemade $10

Tank

A furnace for melting glass, usually starting about 300# and going up. A tank is usually rectangular and is lined with hard high temp fire brick which is sealed when the glass flows into the cracks and chills. A continuous tank has a barrier and two burner areas; raw glass is melted on one side of the barrier and flows under the barrier for pickup, leaving crud behind. See Pot furnace .

Threading Rollers

Four bearings mounted on two brackets on a rail to allow quickly rolling the pipe/punty with a piece of glass run a thread of color around/along it. Brackets can be twisted before bolting down to spiral thread. Homemade with bicycle axles or bearings, $20, Steinert $95

Torch

Most glass studios have one or more hand held torches. At the low end these are usually trigger start propane braising torches (the pistol shape on a hose from Sears is nice) used for lighting equipment and melting edges on punty marks before annealing. These torches can also be used to accent striking color. Some studios use an oxy propane or acetyline torch (much hotter) for melting work. The top of the line torch (which can cost up to $200) is a high Btu flame thrower that is used for heating parts of the pieces (especially the punty gather) during a long working session. The expensive version has a pilot flame and trigger gas control; a cheaper version is a weed burner available at propane equipment shops.

Tweezers

Tweezers made for glass working are long and wide spread and have bent in tips for fine gripping. They can be used as fine jacks when needed. Many hardware stores have oversized stainless steel tweezers that can be spread from their normal width and yield to grinding and bending the tips.

Yoke

An arrangement of bearing balls, often on a Y frame, to support the pipe/punty at the fire and allow continued turning while heating, supporting the hotter, heavier end. From Putsch $118.50, $70; Steinert $90; (all require a base.) Buying balls and bolting/welding a brace and base, about $15.

Sources: (single item sources are included in some items above)

Jim Moore, P.O.Box 30936, Seattle WA 98103 206-522-6046

Paoli Clay Company, 6879 Paoli Road, Paoli WI 53508-9743

Putsch, P.O.Box 5128, Asheville NC 28813 704-684-0671

Steinert Industries, 1000 Mogadore Rd., Kent OH 44240 (www.steinertindustries.com) 216-678-0028

Sources of terminology (uncredited from general experience)

GGNJ

The Glass Gaffers of New Jersey, Adeline Pepper, Charles Scribner's Sons, NY, 1971, ISBN 684-10459-8

GGW

Glass and Glassware, George Savage, Octopus Books, London, Dist in US Crescent,div.of Crown 1973, ISBN: 0-7064-0143-3

Glass working terms not tools, equipment, or bits

Gaffer

from old term for grandfather, the person with the most experience working glass who does the most critical steps of the working and coordinates the rest of the team. Title given to the person in charge of a piece even if others have more experiences. Other people have titles like bit boy, bit gatherers, footers, handle makers, reheat boys, etc.

Gather

Both the name for going to the furnace to get glass (to gather, gathering) and for the glass gotten (first gather, second gather). The end of the pipe or punty is lowered into the glass and turned to drag the glass evenly around the pipe or previous gather. The analogy most often used for the process is turning a spoon or old fashioned wooden pickup in honey, keeping it turning to get to the plate. However, gathering glass involves stuff that is over 2000øF that will melt and deform the previous gather if done too slowly (not to mention set clothes smoking.)

Moile

the name for the blob of glass at the end of the pipe before it has enough done to it to call it the bowl, or stem or body or something else.

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