My machine will only use, i know this is nuts, but it's a very old machine, it will only use the wal-mart 3/1.00 thread. I know, the cheap thread is supposed to be the worst for your machine, but my machine i guess is too old to know the dif. Can't remember last time i've changed a needle, maybe 3 years lol, but it really really does work great lol lol I dont know if i've ever oiled it, seriously, and hmm, to clean it, lift the needle plate and give one strong blow lol lol 40 year old kenmore lol