Compiled by: Liana Dottor

Antique glass - sheet glass produced by the process of glass blowing. It is widely considered the most beautiful of the whole range of coloured glass used in stained glass work. Despite the name, antique glass is not old, but it is made by the ancient process of blowing a blob of molten glass into a large elongated bottle shape and trimming both ends. The resulting cylinder is cut lengthwise and allowed to flatten and cool, giving it a unique variance in thickness with streaks, ripples and occasional bubbles.

Cames (Calms) - strips of lead that hold together the different pieces of stained glass.

Cartoon - working drawing of the design in the actual size of the intended stained glass piece.

Cathedral glass - wide variety of machine-made, flat-rolled coloured glasses; frequently textured on one side. Examples include hammered, rippled, seedy, marine and double-rolled smooth. It is less expensive than antique glass and available in an extensive range of colours.

Concrete matrix - mixture of concrete strengthened with the addition of metal reinforcing rods. This structure holds the thick pieces of glass together in the modern technique, Dalles de verre. It was developed because traditional lead cames were not sufficient to hold the thick pieces of glass together.

Cutline - tracing on Cartoon used to translate the design onto the glass. It shows the positions and juxtapositions of the pieces of glass, allowing for the leads.

Dalles de verre - literally means flagstones of glass. The technique developed in the 20th Century and uses glass 1 inch thick or more, compared to 1/8th of an inch glass used in traditional stained glass. It has come to be known in English speaking countries as dalles, slab glass or faceted glass after the process of chipping the edges. (See faceted slab glass).

Faceted slab glass - non-traditional stained glass technique that makes use of the strong, rugged character of chipping inch-thick glass, giving it a gemlike, delicate sparkle. (See Dalles de verre).

Flashed glass (Verre plaqué) - transparent glass covered with a thin layer of coloured glass on one side while still in the molten state. Can be two colours, with one colour much thinner than the other.

Glass - the most essential vehicle of expression for stained glass art. Very simply, glass is melted sand. The sand is composed of large amounts of silica derived from quartz or flint. Sand only melts at great temperatures so to help it melt at a more practical temperature, a flux of soda and lime or potash is added.

Glass cutter - simple inexpensive tool that consists of a small hard metal wheel set into a brass bearing with a handle. It can cut straight and curved lines. Diamond-tipped cutters are more expensive and less maneuverable.

Glass paint (vitreous enamel) - special paint that consists of a mixture of finely ground glass dust and iron oxide or other metal oxides with a flux such as borax. This enables the glass dust to melt into the glass surface and fuse to it without the glass itself running off.

Glazing knife - thin blade with a sharp edge used to cut lead cames. It has a curved edge that can be rocked back and forth to make a clean cut through the lead.

Lathekin - tool used for running down the channel of lead, opening it up so that it will accept the glass shapes easily. It is generally homemade from a piece of hardwood. It is sometimes made of bone because it is effective in manipulating the lead cames.

Lead came stretcher - tool used with bench vise or a lead vise to stretch lead cames from their limp, curved state to a more rigid one. This has to be done before the lead cames can be used in the stained glass panel.

Leaded glass - traditional stained glass method. It involves a series of steps from making a design, forming and cutting the pattern, cutting the glass to the pattern, preparing the work surface to assembling, soldering and puttying the leads and glass. The glass is divided into types according to method of manufacture which determines texture, transparency, opacity and singularity of colour.

Opalescent glass - semiopaque glass of milky or marbleized appearance used extensively in Victorian art glasswork.

Painted and fired glass - complex procedure involving baking glass in an electric enameling or ceramic kiln to fuse the paint. It has been an integral part of stained glass even before electricity, since its use in early Gothic stained glass windows. Such works are composed of more than a pattern of coloured pieces of glass set in a matrix of lead cames. Individual pieces in the pattern have painted details. For example, features of the face such as the eyes and so forth are brushed with glass paint onto the glass, which is then fired at high temperature. The paint fuses with the glass surface and becomes a permanent part of the structure.

Pattern shears - tool used to cut the paper pattern. It removes a thin strip of from the pattern when you cut. This is the space that will be taken up by the lead cames.

Soldering iron- instrument used to fuse lead joints or unite copper and lead with heat and lead flux.

Stopping knife - blunt-edged knife used for straightening lead around the pieces of glass.

Verre plaqué see Flashed glass.

Whiting -fine white calcium carbonate powder used as a final cleaning agent in stained glass work.