disclosed herein is a system for supporting self - closing tongs specially adapted for gripping thin glass sheets during thermal processing , such as that involved during press bending wherein the glass sheets are brought to a sudden start and a sudden stop that promotes swinging of the tongs and its supported glass . the present invention limits the tong swinging so that the glass sheets can be aligned with small tong receiving notches in press bending molds , thereby improving the conformity of press bent glass sheets to their desired shapes .