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There are many candidates for the title of “planet’s greatest innovation.” The wheel. The movable type. The combustion motor.

As per a new book, though, that title should go to a mechanised timber mill invented through Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.

“Prior to mechanised sawing, constructing a simple trading ship necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks working over 90 days,” writes the author. “With wind-driven sawmills, an identical quantity of processed timber could be manufactured in less than a week.”

Thanks to their speedy automated cutter, which turned logs into boards with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build vessels faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch naval, economic as well as cultural supremacy in the continent and the world.

The Original True Industrial Device

The inventor's lumber mill, contends Dávila, was “humanity’s initial true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. A single part converted the circular motion to vertical motion for the cutting blade. A separate mechanism transformed that same spinning movement into a sideway’s movement feeding the timber toward the cutter. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead one precise increment per cycle.

“Every component was modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate these parts in order that they acted in a perfectly controlled order, cutting on every downward motion and moving with each upward stroke. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of basic components.”

Which leads us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like you to reimagine one of the fundamental ideas behind Corneliszoon’s invention.

Round and Up

Construct a mechanism which converts circular motion to vertical action. Your available these items only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume it is possible to put things on a base, so the components do not fall down.)

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

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s most impactful creation.