Are You Able to Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Creation That Forged the Modern Globe

One can find numerous contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The combustion motor.

According to a recent publication, however, that title should go to the mechanised timber mill conceived by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.

“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest trading ship required approximately 10 lumberjacks laboring for three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven sawmills, the same quantity of cut lumber might be manufactured in less than seven days.”

Thanks to this rapid automated cutter, that turned timber to boards with almost no human effort, Dutch builders could build ships more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Dutch naval, economic as well as artistic supremacy in the continent and the globe.

The Original True Manufacturing Device

The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s initial true industrial machine.” A windmill turned a gear. A single part converted the circular motion into up-and-down action to power the saw. Another component transformed that same spinning movement into a lateral movement advancing the timber toward the blade. A geared mechanism moved the wood ahead a measured step per stroke.

“Each element seemed simple by itself. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to combine them so the machine acted in a perfectly controlled sequence, cutting with each descending stroke while advancing with each return stroke. This constituted a remarkably clever application of fundamental components.”

Which brings us to the current challenge. The task is you to reinvent a key the basic ideas behind Corneliszoon’s machine.

Circular to Vertical

Design a machine that turns circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or housing into which one of the rods can slide snugly. (Consider that you can mount components on a stand, so the parts do not collapse.)

I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the solution.

In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates for the world’s most impactful invention.