Can You Crack It? The Overlooked Netherlands Invention Which Forged the Contemporary World
One can find many candidates for the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
According to a new book, however, that honor belongs to the automated sawmill invented through Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.
“Before automated cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated around 10 sawyers working for three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered lumber mills, an identical quantity of cut lumber could be produced within a week.”
Owing to this speedy automated cutter, which turned timber to boards using virtually no manual labor, Dutch builders could construct vessels more quickly than anyone else, an advantage that unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, economic and cultural dominance across Europe and the globe.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device
Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, was “humanity’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A windmill rotated a wheel. One component transformed the circular motion into up-and-down action for the saw. Another component changed that same rotary motion into a sideway’s motion feeding the log toward the cutter. A geared mechanism moved the log ahead a measured step per cycle.
“Every component was modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s genius was to integrate them in order that they operated within a precisely synchronized sequence, sawing with each descending stroke while advancing on every upward motion. It was an astonishingly clever use of fundamental parts.”
Which leads us up to the current puzzle. The task is you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts behind Corneliszoon’s invention.
Circular to Vertical
Construct a machine which converts rotary movement to vertical action. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Assume it is possible to mount components on a stand, so the components don’t collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the solution.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (less celebrated) candidates as the planet’s most impactful invention.
