Can You Solve This? That Forgotten Dutch Invention That Shaped our Modern World

There are numerous contenders to claim the title of “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.

As per a new book, though, that title belongs to the automated timber mill conceived through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.

“Before mechanised cutting, building a simple trading ship necessitated around ten lumberjacks working over 90 days,” writes the author. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, the same amount of cut lumber might be manufactured within seven days.”

Thanks to their speedy automated saw, that converted logs to planks with virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to build ships more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that unleashed one hundred years of Netherlands naval, economic as well as cultural supremacy across the continent and the world.

The First Genuine Industrial Machine

Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component transformed the circular motion to vertical motion for the saw. Another component transformed the spinning movement into a sideway’s movement feeding the log to the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead a measured step each stroke.

“Every component seemed simple by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to combine these parts so they operated within a precisely synchronized sequence, cutting with each descending stroke and moving with each return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental parts.”

A fact that brings us up to the current puzzle. The task is for you to reinvent a key the basic ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.

Circular to Vertical

Construct a machine which converts rotary motion into up-and-down motion. You have these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a base, so the components do not collapse.)

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

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please propose (non obvious) candidates for the world’s greatest creation.