Parts Of A Pool Cue 101: Your Comprehensive Guide

As a billiard enthusiast, whether you’re a casual or professional player, accurately appreciating a pool cue can make you a champion. Understanding the role of all pool cue parts is the key to helping you control your shots and determine the best pool cue that compliments your pool-playing style.

Therefore, let Pearson® experts teach you through this comprehensive guide about the anatomy and function of the parts of a pool cue. This guide will enrich your knowledge about pool cues and improve your performance.

Parts Of A Pool Cue 101

A pool cue has a two-piece structure, including a pool cue shaft and a pool cue butt. Each comes with several pool cue parts that offer specific functions to make a complete cue. Below is the anatomy of a pool cue:

Pool Cue Shafts

Pool cue shafts: the upper part of pool cue is made from wood or carbon fiber. The pool cue shaft is a crucial part that directly affects your shot.

Pool Cue Tip

parts of a pool cue

The tip is a significant part of striking the cue ball. It’s commonly around 11 mm to 13 mm in size and made of leather material. You can make a pool cue tip hard or soft, depending on your preference for playing pool. There are two principles of playing that you should apply on every hit.

For powerful hits, use a harder tip

For better control on every hit, use a softer tip

Pool Cue Ferrule

pool stick parts

Right below the tip, there’s a white part called the ferrule. It’s strong and helps strengthen the cue tip while minimizing vibrations from your shots. If you’re starting, you might not think much about it, but advanced players look for a reliable ferrule to keep their shots consistent.

Shaft

parts of a pool cue

As mentioned, the shaft is the longest part of the upper section of a two-piece cue. Its material is often maple wood, but sometimes you’ll find the best pool cue shafts are made of graphite or carbon fiber. The taper of the shaft is the degree to which the material gets thinner towards the tip. The smooth wood or carbon helps you make solid and stable shots, letting the cue slide through your fingers easily.

Joint Collar

parts of a pool cue stick

At the end of the shaft is the joint collar. It is a small band connecting the butt to the shaft. The material of the joint is important because it decides how powerful your shots will be. People use materials such as resin, wood, graphite, or metal based on whether they want more power or control for their hit.

Pool Cue Butt

The butt is the thicker bottom part of the complete pool cue. It is where your shot power comes from when you grab it with your main hand and give it the right push to hit the cue ball.

Joint Pin

parts of a pool cue

The joint pin is a metal piece at the top of the pool cue butt. It is the part connecting the top and the bottom of a two-piece cue.

Butt Collar

anatomy of a pool cue

The butt collar is under the joint pin. People can make it from lots of materials, but typically it’s made from stainless steel. This collar makes a two-piece cue look like one piece, giving a perfect appearance for owners to appreciate.

Forearm

parts of pool cue

After the butt collar, there’s the forearm – it’s the longest section of the bottom part of the cue. Its material is often wood, and this part often has unique designs carved into the wood or added stickers and logos. The forearm gets a shiny coating that protects it from all the regular wear and tear a pool player might put their cue through.

Butt Sleeve

parts of a cue stick

Under the wrap is the butt sleeve with a fantastic design same as the forearm. Inside the butt sleeve, there’s often a way to change the cue’s weight using bolts, so you can make it lighter or heavier whenever you want.

But Cap

parts of a pool stick

The second-to-last pool cue part is the butt cap. It helps strengthen and straighten the cue, and is also part of the interchangeable weight bolt system.

Bumper

pool cue parts

The last part of a pool cue is the bumper. It’s usually rubber and helps absorb the hit when you make a shot. Besides, the bumper also protects the cue from sudden touches when other people are waiting for their next turn.