Sunday, January 6, 2008

Installing the Cricut Blade Assembly

I wish these pictures came in the instructions for the Cricut. This would have saved me many minutes of frustration. Just in case there are others who may have the same issue, I took pictures once I figured it out. I found these instructions for adjusting the blade depth which require you to remove the assembly. (but no instructions for initial installation)

Here are Cricut's instructions (page 14 of the manual) with my pictures:
To remove the cutting blade assembly, locate the thumbscrew and turn it counterclockwise until it loosens enough that you can swing the thumbscrew to the right. Be careful not to loosen the screw too much or it will fall out.

Once you get it open, insert the green blade assembly as shown. Close the arm and tighten the thumbscrew around it.



Now that you know how to do insert it, you are supposed to remove it when you need to adjust it. Page 15 of the manual has two charts for speed adjustment and pressure adjustment. It makes sense that you would need to adjust it based on the thickness of the paper or card stock. My Gingerwood friends also gave me tips on speed and pressure. Susan posted a chart that she keeps taped to the Cricut for easy access.

I would benefit for a "Cricut for Dummies" book. I'll add more tips as time permits and I figure things out.

7 comments:

Kimberly said...

I had that same problem when i got my cricut and it was also my son (10 at the time) who had to show me how to install the blade!! I think he would have said 'duh mom' if he thought he could get away with it *wink*

Your cards using the cricut are great, I really love the color combos you did. Way outside of my box yet

Blessings

Anonymous said...

I know exactly how you feel. I have a Cricut which I bought from a friend of mine when she upgraded to the Expression. I was replacing the balde housing (green cartridge) when the l/h side of the "claw" which hlds it fell out in my hand - in 3 pieces. it explained why the machine wouldnt cut and why i thought i needed a new blade.
My problem now is that Ilive in ireland and dont know if its possible to get a replacement part, and if it is, is it easy to install(????).
Also, althiough the machine is only six months old, would it still be covered by guarantee because of the fact that i have bought it from someone else.

Jill said...

I can't thank you enough! :)This was extremely helpful.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the picture of the installed blade. It was not explained AT ALL in the instructions. I knew the notch had to be below the top somehow, but didn't know how to fit it in there. This should definitely be in their instructions!! Thanks again - even more than 3 years after you posted it! Just got my first Cricut and it's not starting out well...tee hee!

Barb R. said...

Thank you for this information! I Googled how to put in the blade assembly that came with my new Cricut. I couldn't figure out how to get the blade assembly down through that hole. It wouldn't open wide enough. But now I know to push the thumb screw to the side. :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting this. I was getting very frusturated with my Cricut machine when I stumbled on your site. Thanks again for the clearcut instructions.

Anonymous said...

Thank you!!!