[How to] Build your own 5 step Golu padi - [Step 1] Basic design & the measurements



  • Want a dismantleable Golu Padi for this Navaratri ?
  • Feel the ones in the market are very expensive ?
  • Had trouble trying to find a carpenter to get it done for you ?
  • Did you land up here looking for means to build your own DIY Golu Padi right from scratch and at a much lower price ? 
Well, you have come to the right place. Just browse through the 3 posts from the drop down below and learn about the basic design, materials required and cost, and the assembly procedure (a video).
Check Out ! Complete guide to build your own Golu steps
Preethi had started the Golu display at our new home with make shift Golu steps. This year, we wanted something that is more permanent and easy to store and assemble. And so started the Golu padi project. Before that, I would like to thank Love and Lentil for their tutorial from which I took the design with minor additions.

Golu steps how to build one yourself
Basic design of the Golu Padi
So, what do you need to get your basic 5 step Golu padi up and running (Well ! Not literally)
  • 2 side steps that will support your Golu padis
  • The actual steps (5 of them)
  • Vertical support for the side steps
  • Horizontal support
The focus of this post would be to explain how to arrive at the measurement for the side steps based on the width of each of the Golu padi. And in turn, arrive at your total amount of wood that you need to purchase.

Key Decisions

First decide on the following : What should be the height between two steps ? What should be the width (depth) of the steps ? What should be the length of the steps ? All these three decisions will be completely based on your own collection of dolls / idols. For convenience, choose the height and width (depth) to be same.  In our case, we chose 8.5 inches as the height and depth.

Golu step DIY
Choose the width, height and length of your steps

Dimensions for the side step support

Here is where Pythagoras Theorem comes in handy. Don't really remember using it for anything functional in the last so many years. Your padi width / height (indicated by 'a') being the sides of a square, you will need a plank that is 5 times the diagonal of that square. The below illustration will help you decide how much of side step support plank that you would need based on your choice of width and height.

golu padi - Do it yourself
How to arrive at the dimension required for Side step support
For 8 inches wide step, you would need just one board of 4 feet x 7 feet plywood. This will suffice for a 5 step golu padi. If you keep increasing the width dimension or increase the number of padis, the total requirement would change. However, the same logic as explained above can be used to calculate your total plank requirement. Again, the below illustration is self explanatory :
golu padi tutorial
Total (ply)wood requirement for an 8in x 8in step (4 feet long)

Horizontal and vertical support

The vertical support is required to hold the structure in place without falling down. And the horizontal support is required to prevent the structure from falling sideways. Both these supports are critical to the stability of your entire structure. You can either use the left over wood (as indicated by the wooden texture in the above photo), or buy the required amount in addition to the 4ft x 7 ft board. The length of these supporting pieces are not provided as they are straightforward and can be derived by merely measuring using an inch tape.

Vertical and horizontal support
Vertical and side support for the overall structure
To summarize, we saw :
  • What is the basic design of the steps
  • How much wood is required depending on your choice of width dimension
  • How the vertical and horizontal supports help holding the golu steps in place
I will shortly (In 2-3 days time) follow up this post with what I have used for making the steps and the cost involved. Meanwhile, you will have to tell me if this DIY will be of any use to you at all ? Would you be prompted to go ahead and try this out for this festive season ? Let me know in the comments section.


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48 comments:

  1. Hello folks ! I am getting a golu padi made with the help of a carpenter, though, and this was the first site I visited. The carpenter was clueless about this item of furniture ( an UP fellow !)
    I found the instructions very useful and easy to follow. But I am intrigued by the mathematical formulae. How did you use Pythagoras theorem to derive the factor of 1.414 ? I remember seeing this number in NPV calculations ... after 40 years I googled for Pythagoras theorem, and cut the slough off from the crevices of my memory ! I am just plain intrigued !
    Congrats on yet one more blog year completed. Keep going !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sharada,

    Pythagoras theorem c^2 = a^2 + b^2
    In the example above, a=b and hence c^2=2 x a^2
    c = a x Square Root of 2
    c = a x 1.414 (a is the side length while c is the length of the diagonal)

    Maybe I added the theorem part of it for the dramatic effect :) Nonetheless, am really happy the instructions helped you explain it better to the carpenter :)

    Thanks a lot for dropping by and let me know you found the post useful. Makes my day :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is an awesome post that I like most. In this post I have
    Learn a lot of things which I didn't know before. Keep posting
    Like this. This is really informative and helpful post to me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice post. Those who do not find to do this yourself, a great alternative is kolusteps.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Replies
    1. Hi Anitha, This costed me a little over Rs.1250/-. That too because I used plywood. I actually went around looking for wooden planks that are used for packing... That could have brought down the cost drastically. But then time constraints and so i went with plywood. Surprising I did not mention the cost in my post... Thanks for asking this question. Will go over and make the change.

      Delete
  6. Veart very useful post. Thank you so much.
    - Venkat from Princeton NJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Venkat, Thanks for sharing your feedback. Glad to know you find it useful :)

      Cheers,

      Delete
  7. Very useful. Now I can do it myself with so.e hired help. I have some spare plywood which I intend to use.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very useful. Now I can do it myself with so.e hired help. I have some spare plywood which I intend to use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kalyani, great... Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment :) Happy making your own steps :)

      Delete
  9. Hi Somu,
    Very nice project. Hope your golu is going well.
    By the way, for a 4' length step, does it hold good all "bommais" without bending in slightly? A center, vertical support might reinforce the steps for years to come. What's your take?
    Regards,
    Babu Kothandaraman

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Babu, very valid point. Should be safe with 19mm ply, but with 12mm, heavy dolls will add weight on the plank. Center vertical support is much needed in such a case. For now, considering we are only collecting small dolls, that thought did not occur to me. But you brought out a valid point. Think I should update it in the post too ? May be difficult to redo the drawings, but certainly a message will help. The cheapest (just to make it cost effective) vertical support I can think of is a curtain rod. Any thoughts there ?

      Delete
  10. Very useful. I wanted to make a miniature version for putting in the Show case. Very useful as I first did it in an A4 paper and then thin plywood.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Friends, you can also buy this product from us http://www.chennaichairs.com/golu-stand its Chennai based online store. We are selling this product in very cheap price Rs. 6500/- for 5 steps.

    Many Thanks
    Sathish

    ReplyDelete
  12. I want to make Kolu padi with 1ft height and 1 ft width of 7 steps. 6 feet wide.
    I think we can get sheets at 8 X 4 also. Can you tell me how to cut it with minimal waste?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? 1' between steps, 7 steps, with the added with the thickness of planks (at least 1/2" plywood), would be around 8' in total height, which would reach up to the ceiling. Either reduce the height between steps, or reduce to 5 steps.

      Delete
  13. This is a good diagram but if video is there it will be more useful

    ReplyDelete
  14. What should be the thickness of the plywood?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anything more than a 90 cm (3 ft.) span will need a center stringer as well. I would not use anything less than a 19 mm (3/4") plywood

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used a 5' span (outdoor light wood) with no center stringer. Of course you cannot step on the steps, as it'd break. But for the dolls, it is more than fine.

      Delete
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