Are You Able to Solve It? The Overlooked Dutch Creation That Shaped the Contemporary World

One can find numerous candidates for the designation as “planet’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor.

As per a new book, though, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.

“Before mechanised sawing, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated approximately ten sawyers laboring over three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven lumber mills, the same quantity of cut lumber could be manufactured within seven days.”

Thanks to their speedy mechanical saw, which turned timber into boards with almost no human effort, Dutch builders could build vessels faster than anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Netherlands maritime, financial and cultural supremacy across Europe and the world.

The Original True Manufacturing Machine

Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues Dávila, was “humanity’s initial true factory machine.” A windmill rotated a gear. A single part converted the circular movement to vertical action to power the cutting blade. A separate mechanism transformed the spinning motion into a lateral movement advancing the timber to the blade. A ratchet system moved the wood forward one precise increment per cycle.

“Each element seemed modest by itself. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to combine these parts in order that the machine acted within a precisely synchronized order, sawing with each descending motion and moving on every return stroke. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”

Which brings us up to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.

Circular to Vertical

Construct a mechanism which converts rotary motion into vertical action. You have these components exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which a single the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a stand, so that the components don’t fall down.)

I’ll be back at 5pm UK with the answer.

Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates for the planet’s greatest invention.