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There are numerous contenders for the title of “planet’s most significant innovation.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine.

According to a recent publication, though, that honor belongs to the mechanised sawmill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.

“Before automated cutting, constructing a simple trading ship required around 10 lumberjacks laboring over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-driven sawmills, an identical amount of processed timber could be produced within seven days.”

Thanks to this speedy automated saw, which converted timber into boards with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to build vessels faster than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as cultural dominance across the continent and the globe.

The First Genuine Manufacturing Machine

Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends Dávila, represented “humanity’s initial authentic industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted its circular movement to up-and-down motion for the saw. Another component transformed that same rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the log toward the blade. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment per stroke.

“Every component was modest on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts so the machine operated within a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing on every descending stroke while advancing with each return stroke. This constituted a remarkably intelligent use of basic parts.”

Which brings us up to today’s challenge. I’d like you to reimagine a key the basic concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s machine.

Round and Up

Design a mechanism which converts rotary motion to vertical action. Your available these components only: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve through which a single the bars will fit snugly. (Assume it is possible to put things on a stand, so the components do not fall down.)

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

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to propose (less celebrated) candidates for the world’s greatest creation.