I did not hit a pin, but did it on my longarm. Did not bend the shaft - just threw out the timing. Had to take the machine nearly 200 miles to get it fixed and then pay the repair bill, too. Also had to take off a day from work. A costly day. What happened to mine was that my customer had pressed all seams to the side. At the junctions were thick wads of fabric. Can't quilt through those. Once tried hitting them with a hammer (my own quilt thankfully) and the fabric split. Anyway, I hit one of those thicknesses, broke the needle and threw out the timing. I am careful now to check when I get a quilt and give them back for re-pressing when they are very thick!