How To Make A Network Cable
The Steps Involved:
The Tools Needed:
Our wire strippers are available in the store
for under $10 and last for thousands of
cable builds. With a variety of blades and
stripping options, these cables can be used
on your Cat5E, CAT6 and even your flat wire
(phone cable) builds. Click to buy it.
First strip the jacket from the cable, being
very careful not to cut into the individual
conductors. It is wise to take a few practice
tries to make sure you are not stripping too
deep before you end up cutting too much
off.
A good set of wire cutters will last a long
time. Click the set below to buy them in the
store.
The 4 twisted pairs.
Next untwist the pair to make them
workable. Try not to untwist to far as the
twisting helps eliminate crosstalk and
provides for a better quality cable.
 In our Store, we also offer wire cutters with
serrated blade tips for stripping individual
conductors. These can be useful on
soldering jobs. Click below to buy.
Next, arrange the 8 conductors according
the 568b wiring specifications.

Click Here for a Larger Image of the Correct
Wiring Order
Sometimes a fine bladed set of wire snips
can be a desirable option for building patch
cables. If any single conductors get out of
hand it easy to trim one without
accidentally cutting others with these:
This next step can take some practice.
Trim back the conductors so they are all
very close in length. Your goal is to cut
them just long enough to insert into the
RJ45, and no longer.
RJ-45 Connectors for CAT 5E and CAT 6
wire available in our store:
Sometimes it helps to press all 8
conductors against the back wall of the
inside of the RJ-45 with your thumb while
sliding them into the connector.
Assortment of crimp tools available in our
store:
Notice how the conductors themselves are
as short as possible in the picture below.
This will minimize crosstalk, as they are
twisted as much as possible. Also notice
the grey jacket is pushed up as far as
possible. When crimped, the RJ-45 will
grab the jacket of the cable and this will
provide for a strain relief. This is an
important step in building a cable that will
last.
For a better strain relief and even longer lasting
cable, Insert our "sentinel" strain relief boot
just before crimping. Available in our store:
Click here for an illustration of the correct wiring diagram to make a cat 5 cable, a crossover cable and soon it will
include info on how to make a null modem cable.


Below are the steps involved to make a network cable. If you need to
know how to make a crossover cable, the steps are the same with a
slight change in the wiring. Click Here for making a crossover
cable.