Method and apparatus for eliminating tong vents in a glass sheet furnace

In the method of heating a glass sheet to approximately its strain point or above and then cooling the glass sheet so as to increase its strength, wherein the glass sheet is heated while being gripped along edge portions by metal tongs having a greater heat capacity than the glass sheet, the improvement comprising carrying out said heating step by supporting the glass sheet opposite a first array of heating elements while maintaining protions of the tongs extending beyond the periphery of the glass sheet opposite a second array of heating elements, no portion of the glass sheet being located directly opposite said second array of heating elements, and controlling the energy inputs to the first and second arrays of heating elements independently so as to heat at a higher average rate in the region opposite the second array than in the region opposite the first array, thereby alleviating the occurrence of tong vents arising from a temperature difference between the tongs and the glass sheet.