Are You Able to Crack This? The Overlooked Dutch Creation Which Forged our Modern Globe

There are numerous contenders to claim the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.

According to a new book, however, that title should go to the mechanised timber mill invented through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.

“Prior to automated cutting, building a modest trading ship required approximately 10 sawyers laboring over three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven lumber mills, the same amount of cut lumber could be produced within a week.”

Thanks to this rapid automated saw, which converted logs into planks using almost no manual labor, Dutch builders could construct ships more quickly than anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, financial and cultural dominance across Europe and the world.

The Original True Manufacturing Machine

The inventor's sawmill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s first true factory machine.” A windmill turned a wheel. One component transformed its rotary movement into vertical motion to power the cutting blade. Another component changed the rotary motion into a sideway’s motion advancing the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead a measured step each stroke.

“Every component seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them in order that they operated in a precisely synchronized order, cutting with each descending stroke and moving with each return motion. It was a remarkably clever application of basic components.”

Which leads us up to today’s challenge. I’d like you to reinvent a key the basic concepts underpinning this historic invention.

Round and Up

Construct a mechanism that turns rotary movement to up-and-down action. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to put things on a stand, so the parts do not collapse.)

The solution returns later today UK time with the solution.

In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please suggest (less celebrated) candidates for the planet’s greatest invention.