Rated this 5 stars. However, make yourself familiar with your rod types. I'm rating this 5 stars for a small 7014, not 5 stars for "welding rods" in general. I like the 7014 for light work. I find the 7014 to be easy to use, all slag is removed cleanly (I don't mind slag - I know a lot of people don't like most slag), and in the vast majority of cases I get a really nice looking bead. For a balanced look of slag and caterpillar, I sacrifice the amount of slag to get clean caterpillars of 7014. Note that 7014 does not penetrate well and should not be used for connections that are subject to high levels of vibration and stress. That's not a plastic ball. Small poles can be difficult to work with as they become flexible. Keep in mind that they are small - 5/64" is the size I'm referring to in this review. Be careful with that. If you have a small, light weld, these are good bars. Just note, that in turn they do not offer the same ductility of a welded joint as say 7018. So if your joint is under heavy stress and vibration you may experience weld failures in the future. Considering what a 7014 bar is and that a smaller bar makes for lighter ones They are easy to use and provide a great weld For reference, my car is a Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DC (Round Top, '66, Heavy Copper Wound Transformer) The OCV is included around 75 V. Inverter machines with lower OCVs may show different results Keep amperage low – down to 55 A. Check weld first Every machine is different s, so the amperage setting will be different on my machine compared to yours compared to other types.