Can You Crack It? The Forgotten Dutch Creation That Forged the Contemporary Globe
There are many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a recent publication, though, that title should go to a mechanised timber mill invented through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a simple merchant vessel required approximately 10 lumberjacks laboring over three months,” notes the author. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Thanks to this rapid mechanical saw, that converted timber to boards using almost no manual labor, the Dutch were able to build vessels faster than any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch naval, financial as well as artistic supremacy in the continent and the globe.
The Original True Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues Dávila, was “mankind’s initial authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component converted the rotary movement to vertical action to power the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed that same spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the timber to the blade. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead a measured step per stroke.
“Every component was simple by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts in order that they operated in a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing with each downward stroke and moving on every return stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent use of basic components.”
Which brings us up to the current puzzle. I’d like you to reinvent a key the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine that turns circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing into which one of the rods can slide snugly. (Assume it is possible to put things on a base, so the parts do not fall down.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, feel free to propose (less celebrated) contenders as the world’s most impactful invention.
