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How to Make a Tipping Bucket Assembly

A tipping bucket is also known as a rainfall collector or rain gauge. It is designed to measure the amount of rain that has fallen in a particular area and was first created in Korea by King Sejong the Great some 200 years before Christopher Wren created a version in Europe. To make your own tipping bucket assembly, use supplies from around the home and tools that are also commonly found there. No specialized equipment is needed.

Things You'll Need

Newspaper
2-liter water bottle
Ruler
Pencil
Utility knife
Fine-grit sandpaper
Masking tape
Spirit level

Instructions

- 1
  Place a sheet of newspaper on a work surface. Stand an empty water bottle on the newspaper. Measure down from the neck to where it meets the body of the bottle. Make a dot with a pencil at this point.
- 2
  Measure down from the dot an additional 4 inches. Make a dot with the pencil. Draw a circle around the bottle at this point.
- 3
  Score through the circle drawn on the bottle with the blade of a utility knife. Continue to score the circle until the knife has cut through the bottle. Break the top of the bottle off and place it aside.
- 4
  Smooth the cut top edge of the bottle that is on the newspaper with fine-grit sandpaper. Wipe the edges free of loose contaminants with the edge of a sheet of newspaper.
- 5
  Hold the cut top of the bottle so the neck is facing down. Insert the cut top into the bottle that is on the newspaper. Wrap a strip of masking tape around the bottle where it meets the cut top. Smooth the tape with your fingers.
- 6
  Find a location outside free of obstructions. Place the tipping bucket rain gauge you have made on the ground. Place a spirit level against a top edge of the bottle. Add dirt beneath a bottom corner of the bottle as needed to make the bubble on the level line up between the two imprinted lines.

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