Medicine Bottle Rain Gauge
Intro: Medicine Bottle Rain Gauge
Some of us take medicine every day. A byproduct of this is lots and lots of empty medicine bottles.
I for one, just cant seem to throw them away so I use them all over my house for different things. They really are handy!
Here I will show you a great way to reuse your medicine bottles and turn it into a rain gauge!
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This is a great summer project for kids!
STEP 1: Materials
- Medicine Bottle
- Scrap Wood (2x4 works well)
- Wood Finish
- Wood Glue
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- Saw
- Drill w/ 1" Bit
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Permanent Marker
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The glue is optional, I just like to make sure it's going to stay in there!
STEP 2: Measure Board
- Measure the width of your board. (Mine is 3 3/8 in this case)
- Mark the same distance lengthwise on both sides of the board
- Connect the two marks, making a line
STEP 3: Cut the Base
- Cut on the line you just made
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You should now have your square base!
STEP 4: Make "X"
- Draw a line corner to corner
- Draw a line from opposite corner, making and X.
STEP 5: Drill Hole
- Drill hole in the wood block
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You may want to do this over another scrap piece to make sure you don't damage your bit when you get to the bottom.
STEP 6: Apply Finish
- Apply Finish
- Flip Over (So we don't have to sand the X away)
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I used a natural beeswax finish. You can use anything you like, this is just the one kind I keep on hand!
STEP 7: Remove Label
Your medicine bottle will have a label on it.
- Remove that sucker!
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If the label is being stubborn, try soaking in it soapy water for 30 min.
STEP 8: Draw Gauge
Now that we have the base ready, we will now make the gauge!
Take your medicine bottle and:
Draw a straight line the entire length of the bottle.
Draw a line at each "Inch"
Draw numbers next to "Inch" marks
Draw "1/2 inch" Marks
STEP 9: Glue and Dry
- Apply a dot of glue onside your drilled hole
- Insert gauge and spin to spread glue evenly.
- Let dry for 12 hours
STEP 10: Enjoy!
You now have a homemade rain gauge!
Go you!
Comments
DIY Hacks and How Tos 7 years ago
Nice life hack. I was recently teaching my son about the weather and something like this would make a good illustration tool.