Try and get smaller rods, years ago before i got my TIG setup i was trying to patch up a car and only had a stick welder but got some rods from the Local BOC outlet, think they were about 1mm dia but had a substantial flux coating and was told it contained iron fillings, worked OK on thin plate so 2mm plate you should be fine if you could find some.
Know the feeling about the price of steel cabinets, Norweb insisted i had to buy a specific size/type of cabinet/kiosk. It cost 600GBP
Regards
Mike