I'm not quite sure why I found this project so interesting, but after I built it I knew exactly why I wanted to do it. First, making the flywheel gave me a chance to mill it using another tool I had made, a lathe chuck base for my milling machine. The lathe chuck base holds a standard 5" Bison 3-jaw chuck in an upright position so round parts can be milled. Second, it was the first experience working with bearings. And finally, it was a Christmas gift for my dad.

The Finger Engine article assumed that the project would be quickly built using a manual mill and lathe, but CNC tools really open the door to making their design much more interesting. For this reason I've posted my drawings in case you want to build it with a more unique design. The total drawing and fabrication time was probably about 18 hours.  

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