Are DIY Cables Worth It?

Oh, I definitely think it would be fun as a project, but I also don't want to spend $100 on materials and 4 hours of time to get cables that sound as good as something I could have paid $20 for at Circuit City.

Here's the thing, I would like to have good quality cables, and I also think there would be added enjoyment from saying that I MADE those cables. I'm just wondering if from the technical specs on the web page they list you can tell whether I'll be making good cables that are worth my time or crappy ones.

It looks like the answer to my original question is no.

I have NHT 2.5 speakers and a Harmon Kardon AVR 240 receiver, so I doubt I would reap many benefits from super high-quality cables. Right now I'm using Monster cables, and I don't really have a problem with them, but from the things I read on different virtual systems about how "this cable made my system sound warm and sweet" and "that cable added a depth of philosophical knowledge to my system," I got curious about whether or not I needed some nice cables.

I like the poetic language, and I'm just wondering if good cables can persuade my ears into making me say things like that.

Thank you for the recommendation on the Mapleshade cables; they look very promising.

I would like to address as assumption about price/quality ratio for this thread. For any general quality-level of speaker cable there are great prices, average prices, and premium prices. With my original question about whether DIY'ing these cables would be worth it or not, I guess I should be asking how much I would expect to pay (at an average price for the quality of speaker cable that is produced) for the finished version of these cables.

Everyone has been so helpful so far!

I've never even heard of solid core speaker wire, let alone considered using it. Is there a good place I can go to get a primer on the basics and intermediate knowledge about this stuff? It seems like just when I feel like I'm getting the hang of things, new stuff pops up.