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Does anyone know of a good tool (hand-made or store bought) that you can use to seat the strings at the bridge pins.

Maybe another tool for seating the strings at the hitch pin.

I am trying to stabilize a Kawai RX=6 that is 8 months old.

You can burnish the strings down towards the plate with a hammer stem. If you are not dropping the pitch by 10 cents or more you are not pressing hard enough. If you are dropping the pitch more than 20 cents you are too hard. You might consider tuning the instrument to 442 previous to starting this procedure.

Using a nail punch and a small jeweller’s hammer, lightly and I mean LIGHTLY tap all of the bridge pins. The shock of this will seat the pin and drag the string into seating with the bridge face. I am not in favor of pushing strings down on the strings in front of the bridge pins.This will indent the bridge cap and cause more problems than it is worth.

For hitch pins I use a small carburetor screwdriver and again the small hammer….sometimes the hammer stem too as a punch.

Good luck with the job......

using a small piece of brass works very well. The brass will give way if you happen to tap it to hard whereas something harder like a screwdriver will not and could break the strings. A gentle but firm tap is all you need.

Thanks Guys, I did not expect such quick and expert advice. Again thanks a million. Will try both suggestions from Jerry and Dan on a cheap grand before I do RX.

Ron, as Jerry suggests a brass string setter works best. Schaff Piano Supply sells a Loop and String Setter combo for a good price. If you have trouble finding a piece of brass wide enough to make your own, I would recommend this. I ordered this item a few months ago, and it is well worth the cost.

If you tap on the bridge JUST DON'T DO IT TOO HARD. I was taught to not tap the strings any harder than you would want to hit your own head with the hammer. It's a very light touch.

I just attended a class at the Wichita PTG Seminar where Mr. Walt Brooks from Brooks LTD did a talk about building sound in a piano. He showed us two old screwdrivers (one a small driver blade 5/16" and the other a larger blade driver 3/16")that he heated up on a bench grinder until it was Cherry Red and let it cool slowly. This makes it soft. The small blade driver was great for "tapping" the loops on the hitch pins. (Light Taps only) The other wider driver was great for the bridge pins and the space between the bridge pins.
One note on this grand had no sustain and after tapping the hitch pin loop, had sustain equal to its neighbors.

Scooter

I bet the plate bolts are loose as well....you'd be amazed how tightening them up can increase presence and power, and reduce some annoying noises.

Again, just don't overdo it and crush wood fibers!

I was reading something just this past week about summer being the best time to tighten plate screws and bolts. Doing it when humidity levels are low may result in crushed wood fibers when the humidity goes up.

Jurgen has a great tool for string seating and tapping bridge pins.

I don't agree with screw drivers or nail punches. I use brass rod stock as it is softer than the wire and it is cheap.

The screwdriver that was referred to had the temper taken out of it so it is softer than the wire.