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One can find many contenders for the designation as “planet’s most significant invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The combustion motor.

According to a new book, though, that title belongs to the automated timber mill invented through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.

“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated around ten sawyers working for 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-driven lumber mills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced within seven days.”

Thanks to their speedy mechanical cutter, that converted timber into boards using almost no human effort, Dutch builders could build ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that unleashed a century of Dutch naval, financial as well as cultural dominance in Europe and the globe.

The Original True Industrial Device

The inventor's sawmill, argues Dávila, represented “mankind’s first authentic industrial machine.” A wind turbine turned a wheel. A single part transformed the rotary motion to vertical motion for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed that same spinning motion into a lateral motion feeding the timber to the blade. A ratchet system shifted the wood forward a measured step per cycle.

“Each element was modest on its own. The Dutchman’s genius was to combine them so the machine operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, sawing on every descending stroke and advancing with each upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly intelligent application of fundamental parts.”

A fact that leads us to the current puzzle. I’d like for you to reinvent a key the fundamental ideas behind this historic invention.

Circular to Vertical

Construct a machine which converts circular movement into vertical motion. Your available these items exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pins. Two bars. A “sleeve”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the rods can slide perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a base, so that the parts don’t fall down.)

I’ll be back later today UK time with the solution.

In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (non obvious) candidates as the world’s most impactful invention.