Making your own Ethernet cables is much cheaper than buying pre-made cables. It will take some practice to get good at Ethernet cables, but anyone can do it. Buy a bulk spool of Ethernet cable (Cat-5 Cable), a crimping tool, RJ-45 connectors (2 for each cable), and a tool called an Ethernet Cable stripper.

First, use the cable stripper to strip about an inch of the outer protective shell. One to two rotations with the stripper is enough. Check to make sure none of the inner wires were cut as this will cause the cable to not work. Then, unwrap the colored wires and straighten them out.

Hold the wires between your thumb and forefinger and arrange the colors in order of the wire you plan on making. Straight Through Ethernet cables are the same on each side of the cable. This is the most common type of Ethernet cable. They are used for unlike devices, such as a server or 24 Port Hub to a computer connection. The most common arrangement is: green/white, green, orange/white, blue, blue/white, orange, brown/white, brown. Crossover cables are for connecting two of the same device, like a computer to another computer. On one side it is the same as a Straight Through, and but the other side is different. For the mentioned Straight Through above, the corresponding arrangement is: green/white, green, orange/white, blue, blue/white, orange, brown/white, brown.

Once the wires are arranged, cut the wires straight across to a length of 1/2 inch. Without removing your thumb and forefinger, slide the cable into the RJ-45. Double check the arrangement to make sure they are still in order. The cable should go in far enough to where a little bit of the plastic shell is inside the RJ-45. If not, the crimping tool will damage the wires. Simply take out the wires and trim them down a little bit more if the wires are too long. If everything looks right, check to make sure each wire reaches the end of the RJ-45 connector.

Place the RJ-45 connector into the crimping tool and squeeze the handles. When you take it out, moving the cable should no longer be able to wiggle the wires inside. One side of the cable is now done. Repeat the steps for the other side. Your Ethernet cable is now finished. The more Ethernet Cables you can make for yourself the more money you will save especially if you are setting up something like a Local Area Network or Server Farm.