The tone will die immediately. Perform the same experiment, but this time touch the upper leg very lightly. The vibration will be distinctly felt under the fingers. This opens up a world of possibilities, as will be shown. You will note a small coil Spring on the lower leg so designed as to be a tight fit.
Spring acts as a counter-weight and, therefore, as a pitch control.
Moving this Spring will result in a change of pitch. By this means, then, it is possible to arrive at a fine tuning merely by sliding the Spring to the desired spot on the Tine. We here at the factory are constantly on the alert for ways to achieve the longest possible life in these as well as in all other component parts of your Piano. In actual tests, Tines picked at random have withstood in excess of 6,000,000 blows in a test machine. This machine is so constructed as to simulate actual playing conditions.