Can You Solve It? The Forgotten Netherlands Invention Which Forged the Contemporary World

One can find numerous contenders for the designation as “world’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The movable type. The steam engine.

According to a recent publication, though, that honor belongs to a mechanised timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.

“Before automated sawing, building a modest merchant vessel necessitated around 10 lumberjacks working over three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, the same quantity of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”

Thanks to their speedy automated saw, which converted timber to boards with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders could construct vessels faster than any other nation, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Netherlands naval, economic as well as cultural supremacy in Europe and the globe.

The First True Manufacturing Device

Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a wheel. A single part converted the circular movement to vertical motion to power the saw. A separate mechanism transformed that same rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the timber toward the blade. A ratchet system moved the log forward a measured step each cycle.

“Each element was modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to combine these parts so they acted within a perfectly controlled order, cutting on every downward motion and advancing on every upward motion. It was a remarkably intelligent application of basic parts.”

A fact that brings us up to the current challenge. I’d like you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts behind this historic machine.

Circular to Vertical

Construct a mechanism which converts rotary movement into vertical action. You have these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the rods will fit perfectly. (Assume it is possible to put things on a base, so that the parts don’t fall down.)

I’ll be back later today UK with the answer.

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Instead, feel free to suggest (less celebrated) contenders as the world’s most impactful creation.