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There are numerous contenders for the title of “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.

According to a new book, however, that title should go to a mechanised sawmill conceived by Dutch inventor Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1593.

“Prior to mechanised sawing, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around 10 sawyers working for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same quantity of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.”

Thanks to their rapid mechanical cutter, that converted logs to planks with almost no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build ships faster compared to any other nation, which unleashed a century of Netherlands maritime, financial and cultural dominance in the continent and the globe.

The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine

The inventor's lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “mankind’s first authentic factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed the rotary movement into up-and-down motion to power the cutting blade. Another component changed that same rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the log to the cutter. A geared mechanism moved the wood forward a measured step each cycle.

“Every component was modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to combine these parts so they acted within a precisely synchronized sequence, cutting with each descending motion while advancing on every return motion. This constituted a remarkably intelligent use of fundamental components.”

A fact that brings us to today’s challenge. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts behind this historic machine.

Circular to Vertical

Construct a mechanism which converts circular motion to up-and-down motion. You have these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “sleeve”, that is a tube or sleeve through which one of the bars will fit snugly. (Consider that you can put things on a base, so the components don’t collapse.)

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

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (non obvious) contenders for the world’s most impactful invention.