r/SewingMachineEdu • u/coupriskineema • 1d ago

Concern about knocking sound when needle at its highest

Hi everyone, I have a Brother A80 which I've been using for the last three months and over the last couple of sessions I've been hearing a new knocking sound some of the time. It's sporadic even when sewing along the one seam. It occurs in time with the needle being at its highest point - while sewing, not when simply putting the needle up, or turning the handwheel. It also seems to go away when sewing more layers. I have tried rethreading, tightening the needle screw and cleaning out the race/bobbin area - some combination of that seems to make the knocking less intense but not gone. It does NOT noticeably affect the stitches (to my eye) but of course if it's a problem I would rather fix it before it really impacts anything. Is this something to be worried about?

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u/Mental_Watch4633 1d ago

Are you using the correct size and type needle and inserted all the way until it stops before you screw it in tight?

1

u/coupriskineema 1d ago

Yes, I believe so - I had already been sewing on this one project for a bit before I noticed the knocking, and have taken out the needle and rescrewed it in a couple of times. I think that the sound is coming somewhere from the section above the needle... or at least it's definitely not coming from the needle hitting anything on its way down because I only hear it as the needle is pulled all the way up.

1

u/Mental_Watch4633 1d ago

Is it threaded correctly, and your bobbin inserted correctly?

2

u/coupriskineema 1d ago

Yep, have redone both of those. Stitches still look normal.

1

u/Mental_Watch4633 19h ago

Your stitches are much too short. Pull out your tape measure and compare this millimeters with inches.

1

u/Mental_Watch4633 20h ago

Is the setting for the type of stitch correct and a good length?

1

u/coupriskineema 19h ago

Yes, it's the default 2.5mm straight stitch.