Parts of a Pool Cue – Tip, Ferrule, Shaft, Joint and Butt

All 11 parts on the diagram

Show the list

In two pieces 7

Shaft It slides over the bridge hand. The tip is mounted at its end.
Joint The connection between the butt and the shaft of a two-piece cue.
Butt The bottom portion of the cue, the part a player grips.
Inlays Decoration set into the butt, in other woods, metals or stones.
Wrap Leather, nylon string, Irish linen or another material wound around the butt.
Butt cap A protective cap on the butt's end.
Bumper It keeps the butt cap off the floor. Usually rubber, it cuts the noise when the cue is set down.

Close up 4

Tip The tip is usually leather. It is the part of the cue that contacts the cue ball.
Ferrule The tip is mounted on it. It protects the wood of the shaft from splitting.
Collar A collar protects each end of the joint. The shaft collar is on one half and the butt collar on the other.
Pin It usually sticks out of the butt and screws into the shaft.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) Wikipedia, Cue stick and Glossary of cue sports terms, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue_stick and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_cue_sports_terms (cue tip, ferrule, shaft, joint, collar, pin, wrap, butt, butt cap, bumper, inlays); (2) a buyer's guide, A Rookie's Guide to Buying or Selling a Pool Table, its labeled figure of a cue, passages read through the Internet Archive full-text search, https://archive.org/details/rookiesguidetobu0000mose (tip, ferrule, joint, collar and pin, inlays, wrap, butt, butt cap, rubber bumper); (3) World Pool-Billiard Association, Equipment Specifications, 17 Cue Sticks, archived copy at http://web.archive.org/web/20220127212557/https://wpapool.com/equipment-specifications/ (cue tip, ferrule, shaft). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's cue, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A two-piece pool cue comes apart in the middle. The first view shows the two halves, the shaft and the butt; the second shows the small parts at the tip and at the joint.

Read the full guide

The two halves, then close up

Numbers 1 to 7 are on the cue in two pieces. The slim half is the shaft. The joint is the pair of ends that screw together. The thicker half is the butt, with the inlays set into it, the wrap where the cue is gripped, the butt cap on its end and the bumper under that. Numbers 8 to 11 are close up. At the front of the shaft are the tip and, behind it, the ferrule. At the joint are the two collars and the pin that screws one half into the other.

Tip, then ferrule, then shaft: that is the order from the end that strikes the ball.
Butt cap or bumper? The bumper is the rubber pad at the very bottom. The butt cap is the band just above it.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a pool cue?

From the striking end: the tip, the ferrule and the shaft. Then the joint, with a collar on each half and a pin between them. Then the butt, with its wrap, and at the bottom the butt cap and the bumper.

What is the ferrule on a pool cue?

A sleeve fitted on the tip end of the shaft. The tip is mounted on it, and it protects the wood of the shaft from splitting when the cue strikes the ball.

What is a pool cue tip made of?

Usually leather. The World Pool-Billiard Association's equipment rules ask for leather or another fibrous or pliable material, and a tip no wider than 14 mm.

What is the joint on a pool cue?

Where the two halves of a two-piece cue connect. A threaded pin, usually sticking out of the butt, screws into the shaft, and a collar on each half protects the ends.

What is the wrap on a pool cue for?

It covers the part of the butt where the cue is gripped. Wraps are made of leather, nylon string, Irish linen and other materials.