Scoring Wheel, Double Scoring Wheel and Stylus

Most of you know about at least one of the three ways to score.  The stylus came with my Air machine.  The scoring wheel and the double wheel are for the maker.  You can buy both scoring wheels from either Cricut or Amazon.

But did you know that they all have there specific uses?  Do you need all three?  What if you only have the stylus?  Can You use the stylus with the maker?  These are important questions and I will answer all of them.

Specific Uses

All the scoring tools have their specific intended uses.  They really can only be used on paper.

The Stylus – this was originally for the Explorer machines but you can use it with the maker.  It works on all types of paper.

The Single Scoring Wheel – This can only be used in the Maker.  It works similar to the stylus but it goes in spot A instead of the pen holder.  The single wheel does not come with the Maker and must be bought separately.  It was the first tool to use the interchangeable housing.  It can work on all types of paper.

Double Scoring Wheel – This only works with the maker.  It can be bought with the housing or without but you do need the housing to use it.  It was designed to work on thicker and heavier paper but it works on all paper.

Do you need all three?

If you only have the Explorer machine, you can only use the stylus so you have no choice.  But it will do everything you need.

The best way to test scoring is by doing rosettes.  I tried all three on two different paper weights and the results were pretty much what I thought.  

If you have a maker all you really need is either the single or double wheel.  You don’t need both.  While on the heavier paper the double wheel did a better job and the paper was easier to fold, it wasn’t enough to spend money on a new tool if you already have the single wheel. 

The single and double scoring wheel do a better job scoring that the stylus because they are directional and rotate.  I made a  score line that had sharp and wavy turns and the two wheels did better than the stylus.

So in conclusion,  If you have one scoring wheel, you don’t need both.  But if you are deciding which to buy, the double wheel is better, especially if you use a lot of glitter paper or heavier cardstock.

What if you only have one?

The scoring wheel and the double wheel are interchangeable as far as your machine is concerned.  It can’t tell the difference between the two.

If you only have the stylus, the maker defaults to the scoring wheels but you can change what the machine is looking for.  On the screen where you select the paper you have an edit tools button which opens a menu where you can change the tool.  Just remember the stylus goes in the pen holder side.  Those menus look like this:

Conclusion

I hope this answered all the question you have.  If not email me and I will help and also add your question to this page.

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