// workshop stores
Consumables: what to keep in stock.
Nothing stops a job faster than running out of a £2 contact tip with the customer waiting. The welders who never lose time are the ones who keep the small wear parts on the shelf. Here's the consumable stock list we'd build for a working shop — by process, with the parts that wear fastest flagged.
MIG consumables — the front-runners for wear
MIG eats torch consumables faster than any other process, almost all of them in the torch. Keep these on hand at all times:
- Contact tips — the fastest-wearing part of all. The bore wears oval and the arc starts to wander. Keep a strip in each wire size you run (0.6 / 0.8 / 1.0mm) and change them before they cause bad welds.
- Gas shrouds / nozzles — clog with spatter and choke the gas, causing porosity. Keep spares and clean them regularly.
- Liners — the wire conduit eventually kinks or fills with swarf and causes birdnesting. Keep at least one spare for your torch length.
- Drive rollers — wear smooth and start slipping; a spare set is cheap insurance.
- Wire — never run to your last reel. Hold a backup of your everyday SG2/A18 mild-steel wire plus any stainless or aluminium you use.
Stock rule of thumb: for a busy MIG bench, hold a strip of tips, two spare shrouds, one spare liner and a backup wire reel per machine. They're inexpensive and they're exactly what brings a job to a halt.
TIG consumables
TIG consumables wear more slowly but the parts are fiddly and easy to drop or contaminate, so spares matter:
- Tungstens — a 2% lanthanated (gold/blue) all-rounder in 1.6mm and 2.4mm covers most steel and stainless work on AC or DC.
- Collets, collet bodies and cups — sized to your torch (WP-9, WP-17/26 etc.). Gas-lens cups give cleaner coverage; keep a few sizes.
- Filler rods — the right grade for the metal: ER70S for mild steel, 308L/316L for stainless, 4043/5356 for aluminium.
MMA (stick) consumables
Stick is simple but the rods are moisture-sensitive. Keep a working stock of general-purpose rutile MMA electrodes (e.g. 6013) in 2.5mm and 3.2mm for everyday steel, plus any low-hydrogen or stainless rods your work needs. Store them dry — damp electrodes cause porosity and cracking. Our care & storage guide covers keeping rods in date.
Shared consumables & sundries
Whatever process you run, these earn their shelf space:
- Anti-spatter spray — stops spatter welding itself to your shroud and workpiece, saving consumable wear and grinding time.
- Chipping hammer & wire brush — for clearing slag and prepping joints.
- Gas — never let a bottle run dry mid-shift; keep a spare or know your supplier's turnaround.
- Earth clamp & cable — a worn clamp gives an unstable arc; a spare is worth having.
Build a min/max list
The shops that never run short set a simple minimum stock level on each fast-mover — reorder when you hit it, top back up to a set maximum. For trade customers we make that effortless: a trade account gets you account pricing, fast reordering and 30-day terms, so keeping the shelf stocked costs less and takes seconds.
Stock up
Consumables and sundries, in stock and ready to ship. A few essentials:
Keep reading
More from the trade counter: setting up your first MIG welder, the abrasives buying guide, and the full guides hub. Keep consumables dry and in date with our care & storage guide.