Introduction: Make Custom Guitar Cables on the Cheap

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About: Engineering Enthusiast

Hi there

I just want to share a Quickie project , Guitar cables on the cheap
Great for the guys that like to have exactly what they Want , using The
'The 3 B's Technique ' :
Bueno
Bonito y
Barato

That means Nice , Cool And Cheap in spanish

Soon (in the next step) i'll be posting the Complete details

Step 1: Find Your Stuff (materials)

This is the mandatory list of materials , i'm giving several examples
of raw materia to properly fit your needs or taste

For The plug :
use a 1/4 inch connector not to big and must be take-apart-able (that word exist?)
Option A) A regular plastic body , plug
Option B)A Metalic body , plug (Recommended)
Option C)A silver body And Silver (Ag) plug
Option D)A Gold (Au) plated body and plug

For The Cable Itself :
Must be single Conductor core And Shield (A copper mesh around the core)
Option A) Normal duplex style wire
Option B)Audio microphone cable (recommended)
Option C)Silver Core , Oxygen-free Shielded Cable

This Cable is as You like It , Cheap , Good or Nice
I decided for the good quality cable
The Final cost was:
About 2 dollars of 6 feet of wire
About 1.5 dollars For Each plug
And 3 dollars of silver solder and Heat shrink tubing

I also took some Zipties from my junkbox

So for Everything was 8 bucks , Great!

Step 2: Tools Needed

For the Proper assembly you will need :
@Soldering Iron ( 30 - 45 watt recommended)
@Needle Nose Pliers
@Wire Cutters

}A Lighter
}A small cloth
} Small , Precision scissors

Optionally you can use
A wire stripper
A hot air gun
Some hemostats
And a Multimeter to test connections

Step 3: Strip and Twist the Wires

Using Your Wire Cutters (stripper) Remove the Black , Principal Insulation

Then You'll See A small Cable surrounded by A thin Copper wire mesh

Grab and twist together the copper mesh strands

Then peel The Small Cable (core ) , And Twist The Strands

Optional : dip the wires in solder paste to achieve better tining and soldering

Repeat With the Other End

Step 4: Plug in the Soldering Iron and Tin the Wires

Plug in The Soldering Iron
Wait 5 minutes And Tin the Tip

After That
Put the cable in your Repaireed helping hands if Desired

Put The Tip of the iron in thevery end and slide the solder from front to the back
Here's A Video Demo


Apologize my dirty soldering skills

Repeat With the other Side

Step 5: Cut a Piece of HST and Dry Fit the Plug

Cut A small piece of shrink tubing , of the size of the Small (Core) insulation ,
the Picture will give you instructions on how

Then Put the Plug on and insert the wires in their respective holes
The small tab with a hole in the center of pother lug is for the wire were
you insert the tubing ( The Core ) And the Other strand to the body of the plug

The pictures will give reference

Step 6: Solder , Shrink and Crimp

Solder the wires to their respective tabs , clip the excess wire

Then using your lighter or Hot air gun , shrink the tubing were the connection was made (Use Picture As Reference )

Using your pliers , crimp the wire , were the strain relief tabs are .

Step 7: Apply 1/2 Inch Heat Shrink Tubing

Then Slide a 2 inch piece of 1/2 heat shrink tubing And Shrink it With Your Lighter or heat gun

Step 8: Add the Second Layer of HST

Now Slide As much as you Can a 2 inch piece of 1/4 HST , Then Shrink With a Heat Source

Step 9: Insert the Metallic Body and Spring Strain Relief

Now Insert The Spring And The Round Metallic Body . Screw It And Clean With A Cloth


Congratulation You've Finished The First Side

Step 10: IMPORTANT WATCH THIS BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE!!!!!!!

Before Doing Anything else Insert The HST and The Body Before Soldering . Or else You'll have to desolder everything and start again

Step 11: Cutting More HST and Soldering Again

Cut The Small HST for The Other Core Cable , Slide It In place

Solder The Connections , like about ten minutes before (Shield to body , Core To Tip)

Clip Excess Wire

Shrink The Tubing

Step 12: Slide and Shrink More HST

First , Slide some 1/2 inch HST , Then Shrink

Then,Slide 1/4 inch tubing And Shrink

Pretty Self-explanatory , Isn't it ?

Step 13: Finishing and Final Thoughts

Slide The Spring , Then Screw the Body And....

YOU"RE DONE !!!11!

In the last 30 minutes you've done a Quality , Custom Made guitar Cable
Spending less than 10 Bucks , Could it be better ?

The Resistance (impedance) is comparable with Fender And Yamaha Cables (1.7 and 1.9 Ω )
Having just 2.1 Ω average , Great

Here's the video test


Thanks For Watching

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