Attach the tuning nuts to the rods, turning each tuning nut until there is a slight amount of slack before it contacts the finger.

Make sure there is a small amount of slack in each pull rod's travel before the rod causes the tuning nut to engage the fingers which raise and lower the strings.

The slack can be observed as a small amount of movement of the pull rod or rotation of the cross shaft and pull bar when moving it (as shown above).