If your sewing machine doesn't sound right...
 

Keep taking it apart until you find the problem! I am busily working on my Judy Niemeyer quilt and it was time for the "every 3 bobbin fulls" clean and oil. So I take out the hook assembly, clean all the lint out, oil rewind 3 more bobbins and put her all back together again. I go to bring up my bobbin thread and darn, I must have put the hook back in wrong because I broke the needle. Luckily I always do the bobbin thread slow and easy so when the needle went down it didn't hit anything with enough force to throw the machine out of timing.
I take everything apart but couldn't find the tip of the needle. Hmmm. Oh well maybe it fell down under. Still can't find it. Put everything back together, correctly this time, put in a new needle and she sews fine but oh my what a horrible noise she is making. My Bernina usually is very quiet. I took her apart 4 more times, testing each time at what stage did the horrible noise start. It was as soon as I put the hook assembly back in. Tried changing needles too. Finally on the 4th try... I don't know where it was lodged but that needle tip finally came out from wherever it was hiding. The culpret! DH was going to suggest a magnet right when I found it. I wouldn't have thought of that!.
Once I found that broken tip I put her all back togther and she is purring like a kitten again. Phew. So don't let that clacky, clunky noise go, even if the machine is sewing fine. A new noise definitely means something is wrong. Keep looking until you find it or get your baby to the Dr. Because if I had kept sewing I guarantee I would have done some expensive damage to the machine.

How true! I was using my walking foot on my Bernina yesterday and it was making a clacking sound, not alarming but different sound then what I was use to. I took it off, cleaned and oiled the foot, found a piece of thread wound inside the foot. Installed the foot and the sound was gone. If your machine doesn't hum when sewing something is out of kilter.

I'm glad you found the tip. I hate it when my machine makes a noise. I do what I can and with help from quilting friends we usually find the reason and fix. If not, off to the quilt doctor.

I have actually pulled a full unbroken needle out of the threading area of my emb/sewing combo once. I dont ever remember losing a needle, have no idea how it got up in there....sadly it wasnt the reason I was having trouble, but glad I got it out.

My mom tells me I need to wear eye protection when sewing.....cause you often hear "clunk clunk ca-ching" lol :D

You were quite lucky. I had a piece of a needle (tip) actually make a slight burr in the c hook on my bernina. My machine had a plastic c hook. My fmq was coming out terrible, no noise, but I knew something was wrong. Well my favorite bernina dr. spent a long time taking things apart, giving it a good cleaning, and figured out what the problem was when she put it a new c hook. This tip of the needle only appeared when she tilted the machine forward, it was really hidden. That part was about 100 bucks. Lesson be careful. I hate having so many pins when fmq, that's how I break a needle and that started the problem.

"DH was going to suggest a magnet right when I found it."

If your machine is computerized, I would think twice about using a magnet. Aren't magnets bad for a computerized machine?

When my older Pfaff starts making different noises it means it needs a new needle and often a drop of oil in the bobbin area.

Only if you get it near the computer parts of the machine. The bobbin area is still mechanical with no computer chips or components to be affected by a magnet on my machine.

Using a magnet by the needle shouldn't be a problem for most older machines. I don't know about the ones with the BSR and laser attachments.

It does pay to know how your machine sounds! A screen pops up on my machine when it needs oil - usually I have already oiled it just prior to the pop up. Also can tell by the sound if I need to change a needle - even if it hasn't been used much.

Same goes for your car..... I've told my children when they get a car, they need to drive it for a couple hundred miles with the radio off so they know what it sounds like when it's healthy.

So glad you found it!!!!

You should check the foot, shuttle hook and the needle plate for burrs when ever you break a needle. The burrs can cause the thread to shred or break. Burrs can be polished off.

where do you oil the walking foot?

What sort of machine do you have that you have to oil every three bobbins? I brush mine out with each bobbin change, but don't take it apart and clean or oil. That's all I would be doing!

(I abbreviated original post)
Glad you found the needle tip and didn't mess anything up. I, too, have a Bernina -830 LE and I always do the maintenance after 3 Bobbins. Once in awhile, I'll have to do it earlier, but I can hear when it starts begging me for oil. Then I feed it & it purrs like a Kitten until the next time. My dealer told me that 75% of his service work is due to machines not being cleaned & oiled on a regular timeline. :)

Thanks, for the info. I just finished opening and cleaning my machine. I try to do this often.

Felins fanatic. I have just been using my janome and it started to make a noise. Bump bump bump every time needle went down. I eventually found the screw in the plate was not tight . Screwed it up noise gone.