I think this sounds more like cable installation training than engineering.
Not sure why one wouldn't want a crimper and some ice cubes though.
I never make cables as that what the cabling guys are for, however if I needed one of a specific length, is nice to have the tools to do so rather than invariably only find a 50' patch cable or worse, having none of the length needed, with a spool of cable sitting in the IDF.......
Though I agree, you can get them very cheap, and no one goes to the effort unless they are OCD-ish, or really, really like futzing around with cable. And everyone knows you need less than an inch at the rack termination to keep that crosstalk down right?
And your toner may just have a resistor in series with the speaker/piezo, so replacing that with a smaller one should raise the volume quite a bit, or you could try adding an LED.