Thank you so much for the information. I think that I may have figured it out.....The feed dogs themselves cannot be raised on the machine bed. I do keep the dial on 3 for regular sewing. I have broken 4 needles in the past three sit downs to sew. this last one shattered and flew all over. Disgusted, I tore apart the bobbin holder to clean it. I then noticed that the plate itself had some gouges and scratches on the hole where the needle goes in. Finally figured out that the top plate was not COMPLETELY SCREWED DOWN, thus causing the plate to 'shimmy' a bit, which in turn caused the needles to break. I did sew a bit more and while it stalls a tad going over the double seams, it is much better. Now I need to purchase some more needles. I found some organ needles, I have never used them before, will see how they do!