Fig. 29
Another device is to fit the cue-top with a brass screw socket, into which a screw with a flat top is screwed, and the tip is fixed on the movable screw (fig. 29). The advantage of this plan is, that a player may have three or four screws all duly tipped, and as one tip wears out he simply takes out the screw and screws in another. For country-house visiting this, combined with a screw-jointed cue (fig. 30), makes a player quite independent of local cues and local tips, especially as with a jointed cue he can have a spare top joint.[[10]]
Another simple arrangement is the ivory top fitted with a screw, as shown in fig. 29.
Fig. 30
After long service a cue will wear away at the top. It is worth remembering that such a cue need not be discarded, as it can easily be restored to its original condition. The usual remedy is an ivory top, but a better one is to get the cue spliced or fitted with a screw, according to the illustration (fig. 31). Whichever plan may be adopted, the great thing is to pick an old seasoned bit of ash, nothing being better than a piece of an old cue with a good straight grain. By adopting this plan, the top can be made as large as may be desired, and a good bit of wood in the most delicate part of the cue is ensured.
Fig. 31
The writer has a cue with a single splice, which has been in work for years, and is so well put together that even at this time it is difficult to find the joint; but, on the whole, he ventures to think that the double splice is stronger and neater.