Are You Able to Crack This? That Forgotten Dutch Invention That Shaped the Modern World

There are numerous contenders to claim the title of “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.

According to a recent publication, though, that title should go to the automated sawmill invented by Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.

“Prior to mechanised sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around 10 sawyers working over three months,” notes the author. “With wind-powered lumber mills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be produced in less than seven days.”

Thanks to their rapid automated saw, that converted logs into planks with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to construct ships more quickly than any other nation, which unleashed a century of Netherlands naval, financial and artistic dominance across the continent and the globe.

The Original True Manufacturing Device

The inventor's lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s first true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed its rotary motion to up-and-down action for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed the spinning movement into a sideway’s movement advancing the timber toward the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the wood forward one precise increment per cycle.

“Each element seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to combine them in order that the machine operated within a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every downward motion while moving with each upward motion. This constituted an astonishingly intelligent application of fundamental components.”

Which brings us to today’s puzzle. The task is for you to reinvent a key the fundamental ideas behind Corneliszoon’s machine.

Round and Up

Design a mechanism that turns circular movement to vertical action. Your available these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or housing into which one of the rods can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the parts don’t fall down.)

The solution returns later today UK featuring the solution.

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (less celebrated) contenders for the world’s most impactful creation.