Are You Able to Crack It? The Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Forged our Contemporary Globe
One can find many contenders for the designation as “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The printing press. The steam engine.
According to a new book, however, that honor should go to the mechanised timber mill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Before mechanised sawing, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately 10 lumberjacks laboring over 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber could be produced within a week.”
Owing to this rapid mechanical saw, that converted logs into planks using almost no human effort, Dutch builders could build ships more quickly than any other nation, an advantage that unleashed a century of Dutch maritime, financial as well as cultural supremacy across Europe and the world.
The First True Industrial Device
The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s initial true industrial apparatus.” A wind turbine rotated a gear. One component converted its circular motion into vertical motion for the cutting blade. A separate mechanism changed the spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the log to the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log ahead one precise increment each stroke.
“Each element was simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them in order that the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing with each downward stroke and moving on every return motion. This constituted an astonishingly clever application of fundamental components.”
Which brings us up to the current challenge. I’d like you to reinvent a key the basic concepts underpinning this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns rotary motion into up-and-down motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or housing through which one of the bars will fit perfectly. (Consider that you can put things on a stand, so that the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s most impactful creation.
