I am looking at the different heat shrink tubing at http://www.cableorganizer.com and I am a little confused on what I need. All I am looking to do is to make some neat, sealed ends for my speaker wires. I will be using crimp on banana clips and the wire is 12 gauge. What diameter should I use and what type. The different types are....

2:1 Standard Wall Polyolefin HST
2:1 Adhesive-Lined HST

3:1 Standard Wall Polyolefin HST
3:1 Adhesive-Lined HST

4:1 Standard Wall Polyefin HST
4:1 Adhesive-Lined HST

I would use the 3:1 without adhesive.

The 3:1 ratio means that if you get some tubing that is just big enough to easily fit over the wire it will still shrink quite small and fit tightly.

The adhesive stuff is good, but it's just a bit harder to work with, and you really don't need it for your application. The 4:1 is just too expensive.

Does that help?

Yes it does. Thanks.

Oh what size would be best to use???

Anyone on the diameter?? Looking to order today.

The diameter should be just large enough to slip over whatever it is you're covering. That way you can be assured of a tight fit when you shrink it.

Yes I am aware of that but I need to know what diameter I should order.

Since 12 gauge wire is about .08" in diameter, you need to get heat shrink that fits over it and shrinks to that size. Here are some charts I found doing a simple google search that should help you in the future (metric measurments are included):

http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm

I would think that 1/8" would be fine, as long as that would fit over your banana plug. If not, 1/4" should still shrink up enough to make a tight fit.

Called up the company a little bit ago and the guy I spoke to recommended either 1/8" or 3/16". I'll probably get both just to be sure. It is less than $1 a foot and I won't even need a foot. Thanks for the input.

I think you would be fine with 1/4" shrink tube.

I recently made some cables as well:
http://www.ascendforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=260

When I made them, I was amazed how much some of the cable makers were marking up the prices. The cables cost me about 50% of what a place like signalcable or other places charge.....and I didn't even get the materials in bulk!

You did something different than I am doing. All I am doing is making the ends a little neater. Kinda like 1madman1 did here:

Yeah...I am thinking about changing it to look like that, but I am worried about putting too much torque on the plugs.