cable sleeve questions

[doug91]

Ok so I am confused with the whole cable sleeving thing.
1) Whats the difference between a cable sleeve and a heatshrink?
2) If I buy a DIY cable sleeving kit, how do I actually sleeve my cables?

[silverdemon]

I think the main difference is that cable sleeves are a bit loose around the cables, the don't shrink, so you'll have to have a sleeve that is a bit larger than all your cables. With heatshrink you can get the stuff tighter around the cables. Another thing: heatshrink must be heated, sleeving doesn't

I think for most sleeving you actually need to take of the plugs at the end. I'm not sure though, there might be some kits that don't need that...

hope that helps a bit

[Luke122]

Silverdemon has pretty much nailed this one for you. :)

Heat shrink tubing is typically used at the ends of the sleeving for a nice clean look, and shrunk by applying heat, preferably from a heat gun.

The cable sleeving itself is made of braided nylon, and expands to allow the wires through. The easiest way is to remove the plugs from the ends of the wire, and then tape the end up with a long piece of string attached to it. Pull the string through the sleeve first, and use it to pull the cables through. Once its through, remove the tape and string, slip a small length of heatshrink on, reattach the plug, and then heat up the heatshrink tubing to hold the end of the sleeving on in the right position.

Alternately, you could use a ziptie to hold the sleeve on, but it doesnt look quite as good as the heatshrink.

*NOTE: When removing the plug from the wires, take a picture or make a note of the wire order so that you get it put back together right. Then, TRIPLE CHECK before you plug it in! Blowing up hardware due to bad wiring = suck.*

[Zephik]

Cable sleeves
http://www.uni-koblenz.de/%7Eacidfire/hardware/microcube/sleeving.jpg

Heat shrink tubing
http://www.av-outlet.com/images/techflex/techhs21v31-l.jpg