Everything You Need To Know About The Cricut Scoring Wheel

If you are wanting to use the clean, crisp fold lines with your Cricut Maker, check out this post for everything you need to know about how to get the most out of your scoring wheel.

Last year Cricut not only released the knife blade for the Cricut Maker but they also released two new and exciting tools I use more than I thought, the scoring wheel! They make making cards, boxes, bookmarks and more SO much easier and I can’t believe how crisp the fold lines are! I’ve been playing around with the scoring wheels for a few months now and have gotten several questions on how they work so today’s post is all about the most common questions I get asked about the scoring wheel!

What Is The Scoring Wheel?

The Scoring Wheel is the third tool in the adaptive tool system for the Cricut Maker (the Rotary Blade and Knife Blade are the other two). There are two tips for the scoring wheel, a single scoring wheel and double scoring wheels and they can both be easily interchanged. The scoring wheels work in conjunction with the fine point blade to make your paper crafts have a clean, crisp finished look. The scoring wheel can only be used with the Cricut Maker.

If you want to learn more about the Cricut Knife Blade, check out this post. Rotary Blade post coming next week.

What Makes The Scoring Wheel Different Than The Scoring Stylus?

If you’ve made cards (or any other paper craft that has fold lines) with your Cricut Maker, or even an Explore Air, you have likely used the scoring stylus. The scoring stylus did a good job of making fold lines but I found on designs where I had lots of score lines close together, like with this box, the score lines just weren’t deep enough which made it difficult to have crisp, clean fold lines. The scoring wheel creates deep, clean crisp score lines making folding projects, even those with lots of folds, easy peasy. I made these treat boxes out of foil acetate for our NYE party and they were SO easy to put together.

Your scoring wheels will always go in the B clamp on your Cricut Maker, so you’ll be prompted to change from the scoring wheel to the fine point blade after the score lines have been made. The scoring stylus goes in the A clamp (the same one as pens).

To sum everything up, the scoring wheel creates deeper score lines than the scoring stylus making the finished project have a crisp, clean finished look.

What Materials Work Best With The Scoring Wheel?

You can use the scoring wheel on all paper-like materials (i.e. paper, cardstock, etc) but there are some other fun materials you can use with the scoring wheel to create fun, unique projects.

Paper
Cardstock
Foil Acetate
Vellum
Kraftboard
Poster Board
Shimmer Paper
Crepe Paper

When Do I Use The Single Scoring Wheel vs. Double Scoring Wheel?

The Single Scoring Wheel (01 on the scoring wheel tip) is used for thinner materials, like paper or acetate, that just need a single core line. The Double Scoring Wheel (02 on the scoring wheel tip) is used for thicker materials, like thicker cardstock, or kraftboard, and prevents the material you’re scoring from cracking when you fold it. In Design Space you will be prompted when you select your material which scoring wheel tip you should use.

You don’t have to buy two separate tools if you want to use both though. You can buy the combo pack that includes both the single and the double scoring wheels. Or if you already have one you can buy each scoring wheel individually here.

When ordering from Cricut.com make sure to use promo code TFRUGAL10 to get 10% off and score FREE shipping on orders over $50!

How Do I Change The Single Scoring Wheel To The Double Scoring Wheel?

Changing between the two scoring wheels is just as easy as using the wheels. First, press the button at the top of your scoring wheel housing and the tip you have in will pop out. Then, keep the button pushed down and push in the other tip and release the button.

What Can I Make With The Scoring Wheel?

The project possibilities with the Scoring Wheel are endless! I really love using the scoring wheel when I am having my kids help with projects. It makes the parts they help with so much easier for them (and for this OCD mama). There are dozens of free projects in Design Space you can make with the scoring wheels. Some of my favorite things to create are:

Cards
Gift Boxes
Paper Rosettes and Other Flowers
Vases
Paper Lanterns
3D Gift Tags

Next week I’ll be sharing 3 easy crafts you can make with your kids with the scoring wheel. If you’d like to check out more ways you can use your Cricut check out these posts! Need help with your Cricut? Join our Cricut Support Facebook Group!