I built the balance wheel first. If you make a pendulum movement, you can decide on the pendulum length, calculate the period of the pendulum with math, and design the gear train around that. If you use a balance wheel, there's no good way to do that. So I build the balance first, time the period with a stop watch, then calculate the gear train around that.

The balance wheel was built using the full-circle jaws, a property of the Taig Microlathe chuck. The jaws are made of aluminum, and can be cut just under the size of the tubing used to make the balance wheel, then expanded slightly to hold the wheel. The result is that the wheel is well supported and runs dead true on the lathe.

First, the brass cylinder is trued on the lathe, then the chuck is unscrewed from the lathe headstock and screwed onto the Sherline rotary table in the mill, all without removing the brass cylinder from the chuck. This preserves the truth of the cylinder. The the three spoke holes are drilled at 120-degree intervals around the cylinder.

The hub of the balance wheel is made the same way, using the regular chuck jaws. First the cylinder is trued in the lathe, then the hub is moved to the milling machine where the three holes are drilled at 120 degrees. Then the hub is returned to the lathe, where it is shaped and parted off.

The spokes of the wheel are made from 3/32" steel, then heat-blued. The outer ends are threaded to hold the mounting nuts. The inner ends are fitted into the hub and held in place with Loctite. Using Loctite permits disassembly at a later time, if needed. Three small weights are turned and slipped onto the spokes. These will be used to poise the balance.
This balance was replaced at a later date with one made of glass. See the last chapter on this page.
Machining the rim.
Drilling hub.
Machining the hub.
Drilling rim.
Rim and spokes.
Balance finished.