Most important accessory
Decent fire extinguisher
Second most,
Auto darkening helmet
Ttfn Glenn

Third most......




A decent angle grinder and a supply of abrasive discs 

Quote from: Pondlife on July 30, 2020, 09:47:31 PM
Third most......




A decent angle grinder and a supply of abrasive discs 

Multiple angle grinders, with selection of wire brush and assorted wheels fitted,
Or is it just me that Can Not be bothered with keep changing them over

Quote from: snoopy on August 02, 2020, 08:32:40 AM

I need a supply of these

Mig welding is easy as long as you're not trying to weld on rust then it just blows holes in it. Buy the best you can afford without tripping out the fuse box and get some scrap metal and practise.
You're aiming for a nice crisp sound like frying bacon! If its blobby turn the wire speed up, if the wire bounces turn it down. Once you've done a few runs work on the reverse look of the metal. If the weld looks like a slug laying on the metal then turn the power up a bit, of it blows holes then either speed up your run and or turn the power down. Its fairly easy to mig tbh. I spent 12 years fabricating and welding on ARC but it was steel shuttering so not thin gauge car metal and when work changed to Mig it took me about 20 mins to learn and weld structural welds for shuttering used on stadiums and water treatment tanks etc. The principles are the same but you push mig and pull arc welds, angle the torch and keep it the same distance all the way along the weld. You'll soon get it but don't look at the electric bill at the end of the month!!
Agree, don't buy gasless mig. I bought a Clarke turbo 130 TE many years ago and it welds perfect unto about 6 mill steel, can swap out he wire to stainless and uses either small bottles from Halfords or larger bottles as suggested. By modern standards its not the best but its lasted nearly 15 years of abuse and still welds as it did when i bought it, all ive changed is the torch liner and tips.
Another tip wpuld be use a different material than a grinding disc to clean the area up as that also thins what you're welding, plenty of other abrasive options like flap wheel or wire wheel that will clean the crap off but not take metal away, best advice is practise, practise, practise.

Thanks all, huge amount of info here, think I'm going to have to get the wiring to my garage upgraded to avoid tripping out all the time then take the plunge and start practicing! 

welding is all down to practice, i started off learning on YTS and worked up over years to welding exhaust systems with a 500amp MIG turned up full.(we used to go through a reel and a half a DAY!!)but even now i do enjoy using a TIG.usually when setting a mig up you go for a low power setting and twiddle with wire speed.its mainly a feel for things,i regularly laugh myself silly at some of the horrendous ,i got a mig for christmas,efforts at car shows.pidgeon sh.. does not make a good strong weld!

Quote from: buggypete on August 18, 2020, 12:06:15 PM
welding is all down to practice, i started off learning on YTS and worked up over years to welding exhaust systems with a 500amp MIG turned up full.(we used to go through a reel and a half a DAY!!)but even now i do enjoy using a TIG.usually when setting a mig up you go for a low power setting and twiddle with wire speed.its mainly a feel for things,i regularly laugh myself silly at some of the horrendous ,i got a mig for christmas,efforts at car shows.pidgeon sh.. does not make a good strong weld!

When we had a new guy start at work we had to inspect his welding and i asked him if he wiped the metal with a rabbits bottom, thats what it looked like! Horrendous, gaps, air holes and lumps. He reckoned the welder was playing up so i had a test go and mine wasn't like it so he had  until morning tea break then i fired him 

Welding upside down isn't much fun though when i had to go out onsite. Hot bits,  the little buggers go down your back and dance around in your clothes until they cool down