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!