Historic Mechanism Sings Like New! The most spectacular show at the Rochester Opera House is back in production. The severely damaged auditorium floor raising and leveling mechanism is again ready to take center stage, thanks to the dedication and technical expertise of George Allen, son Don, and the Oasis Alignment Services team, led by Regional Manager Bruce Littlefield. The historic mechanism, invented and incorporated into the Rochester Opera House/City Hall building by George Gilman Adams in 1908, is the only one of its kind remaining today.  During restoration in 1996 Mayor Harvey Bernier called upon OASIS founder, engineer and inventor, George Allen, to attempt the monumental restoration of the quirky mechanism, left for decades, frozen in the up position. Allen led his volunteer OASIS team, including Bruce Littlefield, in unlocking the forgotten secrets and in exacting an historically accurate repair. Why did George Allen take on such a daunting task that, in the end, required sixty hours per week and three years to complete? "It was a labor of love", explained Mr. Allen (pictured at right). As it sometimes happens, history repeats itself. The historic moveable auditorium floor mechanism sustained seemingly irreparable damage in October, 2007. Broken gears, twisted rods and compromised bearings...deja vu, but a lot worse this time. George Allen and son, Don, assessed the extensive damage at great length. They concluded that an historically accurate mechanism repair would demand complete removal and off site testing. Such a plan would be cost prohibitive. The idea of losing the ingenious system born in architect George Gilman Adams imagination was unthinkable, but the show must go on. The Allens devised alternative fixes including hydraulics or several small motors to lift and lower the floor in lieu of the original mechanism. (Damaged bearings pictured below left).
 At some point during this tortuous process, Don Allen reported the astounding news that a portable magnaflux testing system could be brought on site to determine damage, which meant that an historically accurate fix was possible! George Allen and his skilled and dedicated OASIS team produced the first miracle repair during restoration. Without question, only OASIS, intimately familiar with every gear, rod, screw and intricacy of the hundred year mechanism, would be trusted to produce a second miracle. But would they accept the challenge?
The answer from Regional Manager Bruce Littlefield, delivered with fervent emotion, "I could not imagine letting the last moveable floor of its kind die, especially with all the work the volunteers had put into the renovations of this historically valuable treasure, here in our own town. I knew it would take a lot of work, but I had the team that could fix it right!" (Bruce Littlefield below right). And, indeed, it did take a lot of work and the team did fix it right...so right that the old mechanism sings like new. On September 8, 2009 the OASIS team began the laborious job of disassembling damaged gears, bearings and rods. Team member Jay Jordan, fascinated by the hundred year old, yet well engineered mechanism, said of the strenuous effort, "It was a miserable pleasure to work on." Working in an extremely small crawlspace under the floor undoubtedly required ingenuity, evidenced by the employment of one quite unconventional tool...the skateboard. Both Jay Jordan (pictured below) and Jeff Copp, in turn and lying prone, rode the skateboard down a twelve inch wide board to reach damaged gear #7, tucked in at the farthest point of entry.  Once retrieved, the gear rode the skateboard back. The team then loaded the priceless cargo into their van for transport to their OASIS shop for repair.*
The team returned to the Rochester Opera House during the week of September 28, 2009 to install the century-old, but good-as-new gears, rods and bearings. The far from state-of-the-art original motor and stop/start switch, treasures not to be tossed aside, were painstakingly restored and returned on January 4, 2010 to, again, assume their unique role...to power "The Last Moving Floor in Action". (Click here to read more). On January 6, 2010, Bruce Littlefield and Anthony Ejarque flipped the switch that begins the forty-five minute floor leveling process. The century-old mechanism whipped into action. "I've never seen it run this smoothly", said Ejarque. (See refurbished stop/start switch pictured at right).
An historically accurate repair of a one-hundred-year-old, one-of-a-kind mechanism unquestionably required an extra measure of expertise, creativity, patience and commitment. Adding special care at every step of the way, the OASIS team toiled many long hours through a grueling process from beginning to end. The community of Rochester, NH is fortunate to possess this historic, cultural, educational and economic treasure and we are grateful for the herculean efforts of Oasis Alignment Services, who, by their efforts, ensured that the "Last Moving Floor in Action" at the Rochester Opera House is preserved for generations. (Click here to see the video). We salute George Allen, Don Allen, Bruce Littlefield and his team; Jay Jordan, Mike O'Keefe, Jeff Copp, Jeff Trueworthy, Evan Davis and Oasis Alignment Services President Ray Masse. Oasis Alignment Services is located on 255 Pickering Road in Gonic, NH.
* Damages and Repair 1. Three of seven bevel gears (#3, #4, #7) and one of seven pinion
driver gears (#2) sustained broken teeth and or hairline fractures. (Gears pictured below right).
Disassembly: Remove main line shaft sections to facilitate gear removal and transport to OASIS shop.
Repair to broken teeth: Weld prep and preheat gear. Build tooth with multiple welding passes
of nickel weld rod. Blend weld bead into existing gear with grinder to fashion new tooth.
Repair to hairline fractures: Grind and stop drill hairline cracks, then preheat gear. Build up crack
as necessary with nickel weld rod. Blend weld bead into existing gear with grinder to smooth repaired area.  2. During disassembly two of seven lifting screw
bearings were found completely destroyed and
several others were failing. Repair: All seven bearings were replaced at this time.
Reassembly: All gears and line shaft sections were
reinstalled and then aligned to improve gear mesh
for smooth operation. 3. Seven of the fourteen lift rods that attach the
mechanism to the floor were bent.
Repair: Straightened affected rods with arbor press.
Reinstalled all rods and set to proper length using
existing turnbuckles.  (Pictured below).
4. Original stop/start switch burned out and drive
motor condition unknown.
Repair: Start/stop switch and motor removed and sent to
independent electrical repair facility for refurbishing. 5. Additional safety upgrades required by code:
Reposition start/stop switch and cover with protective Lucite guard.
Install and reposition new main power disconnect switch.
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