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There are many contenders to claim the designation as “planet’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The movable type. The combustion motor.

According to a recent publication, though, that title should go to a automated sawmill invented by Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593.

“Before mechanised cutting, constructing a modest trading ship required approximately ten sawyers working over 90 days,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”

Thanks to this rapid mechanical cutter, that turned timber to planks with almost no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to build ships more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Netherlands maritime, financial as well as artistic dominance in the continent and the world.

The First Genuine Industrial Machine

Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends the writer, represented “humanity’s first authentic industrial apparatus.” A windmill turned a gear. A single part transformed its circular movement to vertical action for the saw. A separate mechanism changed the rotary motion into a sideway’s motion advancing the timber to the blade. A geared mechanism moved the log forward a measured step each cycle.

“Every component was modest on its own. The Dutchman’s brilliance lay in how to integrate them in order that the machine operated in a perfectly controlled order, sawing on every downward stroke and moving with each return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental parts.”

Which brings us to today’s challenge. The task is for you to reimagine one of the fundamental ideas behind Corneliszoon’s machine.

Round and Up

Construct a mechanism which converts circular motion into vertical motion. Your available these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which one of the bars can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a base, so that the components don’t fall down.)

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

Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please suggest (non obvious) contenders for the world’s most impactful invention.