PLACING FIXE GLUE-INS
Non-official information
dated July 01, 2008

Fixe glue-ins are durable anchors with low visual impact when well-placed.
They also have the advantage of being inexpensive.

Their disadvantage is that they're somewhat laborious to place.
The technique illustrated below generally gives good results.
The rock surrounding the anchor should be perfectly sound, with no cracks or other evident weaknesses within a radius of 5 inches (diameter of 10 inches.)
On a larger scale, the stone supporting the anchor must itself be well-adhered to the cliff.

Test with a hammer to ensure a lack of noticeable vibration.
Before starting, take the time to position yourself correctly. A better job will be the result.

In addition, attaching oneself to lateral anchors can improve stability for drilling.
A final test of the rock, to be certain of its quality.
If the rock is perfectly sound, no vibrations will be felt in the hand that's flat on the rock.
Hammer and chisel quickly clean off the aged rock surface and smaller flakes.
The surface is ready for drilling.
A final result that maximizes the exposure of the lower part of the head is ideal. This makes the anchor easier to clip.

Also, minimizing the exposure of the upper part of the head helps prevent rotating 'biners from unclipping accidentally.
In other words :
    A. The upper channel (A1) should be deeper than the lower one (A2).

    B. The hole for the shaft should be 15° from perpendicular to the surface of the rock.
In this technique, we start by carving the length of the channel. This makes a straight line that should only need to be corrected for depth afterwards.

First, we make a shallow hole to position the drill bit.
Next, we change the drill's angle and drill straight down, staying close to the surface of the rock.
Stop when the channel is as long as the anchor's head.
Next, we'll drill the main hole for the anchor's shaft.

Place the drill bit one-third of the way up from the bottom of the channel.
Take your time to estimate the 15-degree angle and position the drill correctly.

When everything looks good, drill to the required depth.
For a standard Fixe glue-in anchor (10mm x 80mm) and a standard 12mm drill bit (16cm long), it's simply a question of drilling all the way, until the drill's rubber guard almost touches the rock.
Now we check to see if the hole accepts the anchor.
It's often necessary to increase the depth of the upper part of the channel.

This can be done with the drill, but it's important not to remove too much stone at a time. It's easy to over-correct.

Hint : we often switch to an older bit for this step, as reaming out channels is tough on drill bits.
Small ridges and bulges are quickly and precisely removed with a hammer and chisel.
A pretty good job on this one.

Important point : the bottom of the anchor should rest on the rock.
Check whether the anchor will be easy to clip.
Check whether the biner's rotation will occur smoothly, without catches or hangups.

It's sometimes necessary to reduce the hole's outer ridges a bit.
It just takes a litte patience!
The last step is to clean the hole.

Alternate between brush and blow-out bulb until no more dust comes out.
A hole that's been meticulously cleaned provides twice the adhesion strength than a hole where the dust has only been blown out.

A modified toothbrush is an effective and inexpensive cleaning tool.
When gluing the anchor, follow the glue manufacturer's instructions.

Limit the amount of glue to the strict minimum necessary.
Important aspects :
    1. The bottom of the anchor rests on the rock.

    2. The anchor's weld is oriented upwards.

    3. The glue seals the hole entirely and covers the weld.

Please excuse the absence of safety glasses in our pictures, this was our mistake.

Climber : Louis-Pierre Tessier
Route : Les millionaires, lac Long, Portneuf county, Quebec
Photos : Arian Manchego