Guides? Idk. But I can tell you?

Tools needed:

Standard Crimper [1] [2]

OR

Pass-through Crimper [1]

Standard RJ45 Heads [1]

Pass-through RJ45 Heads [1]

Cable tester [1]

Snips (Optional) [1] [2] [3]

Some crimpers have a blade for cutting the sheath off cables and trimming pairs, so snips aren’t strictly necessary, tho I prefer them.

On tools, depends on how often you plan to use them. If once in a blue moon, just buy Greenlee. If often, Klein or Milwaukee. I love my Klein snips, but coworker has the Milwaukee ones and I gotta say they’re pretty nice. For crimpers you’ve got two styles to pick from, standard or pass through. Pass throughs tbh are my preference because nothing is more frustrating than checking your head thinking it looks right, only for it to fail a test. Pass-throughs are just easier to inspect, but costlier so if you plan to do it often the cost difference is worth the time and frustration. Also I like the passthrough crimper because it has a nice cheat sheet on it on both sides so it orients to the way your cable head is facing.

Note: DO NOT use standard heads on a pass through crimper. There’s a little nub at the end the blade will attempt to cut. DO NOT use pass-through heads with a standard crimper and just use scissors or flush cutters to trim the ends. If you do this, so help me I WILL PERSONALLY COME FIND YOU.

Last bit of advice: just buy a cable that fits your length if that’s an option rather than spend money on tools unless you’re going to do it often or your pulling long runs of cable to do your house (tho never use RJ45 heads for stuff unless you’re doing cameras. It’s better to punch onto keystones).

Step 1: cut the head off your cable with your snips

Step 2: about an inch down the cable use your snips to gently score the cable by closing the snips on the cable, lightly, and rotating the snips around the cable.

Step 3: grab the end of the cable and break the jacket using your hands like you’re breaking a stick. If the jacket is rubbery you may need to score it a bit deeper.

Step 4: Check the pairs after removing the jacket to ensure you didn’t accidentally cut deep enough to score the data wires. If you did repeat step 2 and 3.

Step 5: untwist the pairs and fan them out. Align them so they are in the following order (T568B) (Nobody uses T568A unless you’re doing work for the government, and there’s no reason to use it. All premade cables you buy will be T568B. Technically as long as both ends match the cable will work tho)

• White/Orange
• Orange/White
• White/Green
• Blue/White
• White/Blue
• Green/White
• White/Brown
• Brown/White

Note: the correct way to refer to it is as above (first color is dominant color), but in my head I read it:

• Orange Stripe
• Orange
• Green Stripe
• Blue
• Blue Stripe
• Green
• Brown Stripe
• Brown

Step 6: grab fanned out pairs with your fingers and straighten them out as best as possible, checking that they stay in the correct order.

Step 7: if using standard RJ45 heads, use snips to shorten your pairs to 1/4” making as straight a cut as possible. If using pass-throughs cut to half an inch straight across.

Step 8: Face the jack head with the tab facing down and slowly and gently insert your wires making sure to watch that they stay in the correct order. Check your work by looking at the wires through the clear head. If using a standard head you want to make sure the wires are all the way to the back of the head as much as possible and are in the correct order. If they shifted, remove the wires, straighten them out again and trim if needed and try again. If using pass-throughs it’s easier to check your work here.

Step 9: if satisfied that they appear correct insert the head into your crimper and racket the tool completely closed. The pass through crimper will trim the ends.

Step 10: test the cable with your tester, if it passes you’re good to go. If it fails start over with step 1.