Custom handcrafted boards from Bozeman, MT

The 2011 Crystal Ball for Eagle Mount

2011-11-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Eagle Mount, a local non-profit dedicated to providing theraputic recreation for people with disabilities, invited Laura and I to their annual ball. Not only was it an incredible tuxedo wearing night,we were able to donate 20 pairs of skis to help raise money for Eagle Mount. To my surprise, there was an offer made to match any contribution made during the cash call. All in all, we helped raise over $30,000 for Eagle Mount, as well as providing some of the most Amazing business owners, entrepreneurs and athletes with handbuilt Seneca Boards.

As if the evening couldnt get better, Laura and I had the honor of dining with local legends Conrad Anker and Jenny Lowe-Anker as well as Big Sky's mountain manager Mike Unruh and his wife Jenner, amongst others.

By the end of the spectacular evening, 20 pairs of skis (5 more than we had donated) were auctioned off to the likes of Lee Poole, founder of Moonlight Basin, Dean Folkvord, GM and CEO of Wheat Montana, and Conrad Anker, world class climber and legend. I am so excited to have contributed and been a part of this event, and cannot wait to work with all of these outstanding people!

Thank you for your interest and support, to our new customers, and the entire staff at Eagle Mount; Especially Mary Peterson and Heather Collins!

What a "Fall"

2011-10-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

It was a hell of fall, literally! To kick off the fall season, I went rock climbing in the canyon on my birthday with my brothers and Laura. The day started off with a few missing pieces of equipment and an exploded bottle of beer in my rope bag...the day finished at around noon in the ER after taking a 40ft whipper, breaking my ankle in two spots and tearing a few major ligaments completely in half, then needing to be carried out on my brothers back for no less than a mile down the mountain (thanks Andrew!).

Somehow, all of this managed to heal up as of last week without any surgery! Maybe it was from my healthy diet of milk and Oreo's, or just my new found ability to heal after repetitively hurting myself...

Anyways, its been tough being off my feet for a bit, and now I feel better than ever getting out to the shop to get some good ole fashion manual labor in! Keep those orders coming so I can stay in the shop where I wont get hurt!

A little (skate)Boardom

2011-09-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Right right, not actually boredom, because Ive been swamped with Longboard orders for the last 4 weeks. Boardom, as in being dominated with board orders...

I was beginning to enjoy the spike in business, until I broke my ankle on my birthday - which makes building a boards a bit more, say, interesting. Sadly, this wasnt the first birthday Ive spent in the ER. The good news is, I saved a bunch of money on my car, I mean health, insurance...since it expired the day of my birthday and I just scraped by! It also forced me to slow down to the point of turning out amazing products for half the price!

Here are some photos of the boards. The quality has come a long way since our first board a few years ago. Hopefully all you Bozemanites out there will enjoy riding them enough to refer your friends so we can continue to produce these beasts!

Enjoy!
Everyone has been pretty excited about the 42" cambered fish tail model originally made for my neighbor Adam as a new design.

Ethan Higgins had a custom sketch of the flyers logo sublimated on an orange background. He was pretty psyched on his custom graphics!

The guys from the UK wanted some custom graphics of bozeman and the mountains, one with a slightly different look than the other. Stoked with how these came out!

The 30" Makaha was a big hit, with 2 layers of glass and a maple layup with cherry stringers giving it a strong ride with a beautiful look.

And our wholesale account came through in time to hook all these lucky customers up with completes at less than $100!

Catapalooza

2011-09-26T17:19:00.001-07:00

Hey yall,

Its been a while since Ive put anything up on here, but since Brad has been encouraging me, and I no longer have the excuse of too little time since breaking my foot, heres a little update:

A few weeks back we set up shop on campus for three days, 10 hours a day, for the annual Catapalooza event, which was great!I spent the week prior pressing some fresh skis and boards for display, along with finishing some really nice reclaimed barn wood for the booth. I dont think I sat down for more than 15 minutes the whole time, and am now capable of carrying on conversations with 5 people at a time. I gave out over 300 business cards, 150 brochures and made some really awesome connections. Super stoked to be working with the kids from the UK, as well as some really rad new skiers in town. Hope everyone is enjoying their boards that have been delivered since the event, and Im really excited to get going on the new orders for this winter.

A non-nutritive food varnish

2011-03-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

Some Senecas sunbathing in front of hollywood wall and Arrowhead Peak

All you Chevy Chase fans out there know what Im talking about (you know who you are).

I finally left the confines of the shop this week for some non-nutritive fun in the backcountry! The snow was pretty good, faceshots here and there, and even a little bit of inverted air. But the recent snow met its maker -- the wind -- and after seeing a dozen lines slide, we decided to bail on the big lines. Even so, a nice day in the backcountry to boost spirits was just what I needed, and so far it seems to have worked. I busted out two pairs of skis in the last 8 hours, and have material prepped for another 10. Hopefully well get the heat on two or three today, and hit the ground running tomorrow...and I think I might even go skiing again soon??!!

Sleds are nice...!

Ben ripping 10 inches of new snow heading into Frazier Basin

The wind picked up and dumped another foot of snow into our exit chute...halfway up we got a nice slab to break so we headed for the rocks...has anyone ever tried rock climbing in ski boots?

We built a little booter to get some stoke after striking out with skiing lines...not a bad little mini sesh with laid out backflips, lincolns and a rodeo or two all in about 20 minutes...then to the bar! Rider: Ben Kinsella

graphics

2011-02-28T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ive been playing around with graphics all weekend, ordering some new sublimated topsheets, as well as working on various finishes for our wood topsheets. Here are some pictures to keep you stoked!

Amboyana Burl with 6 coats of clearcoat and a 1200grit french finish
Little closer look...the burl is amazing!

And some graphics files being edited...I think I dig the yellow background on
the old shakenbabies

Blood and sweat...and more blood

2011-02-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

I have been working really hard to get new equipment up and running, new jigs, new workflows etc...As a result of all this 'new' stuff I have been cutting myself a dozen times a day, and literally putting my blood into the skis (dont worry customers, theyre just prototypes!). On the plus side, I feel like I have honed in on the final key factors that will turn out the highest quality skis and snowboards -- little things like routing out a slot for the edge brackets on the core to get perfectly flat bases, or step heating and cooling epoxy to squeeze out every ounce of optimal strength from it. With all these changes, all I really want to do is get back into the rapport I had crunching out skis. But in the meantime, its been interesting to learn new techniques and make some big steps forward. Ive been working with epoxy manufacturers over the phone to hone in on the perfect temperature settings and times for curing epoxies. Our new heater is working really well, and at 250 degrees F, it pushes out skis in 20 minutes...compared to the 24 hour time we had before Im pretty stoked about this! I have also pressed our first bamboo ski made from carmelized stranded bamboo from china...On top of that, literally, I laminated some super exotic amboyana burl which is currently drying with 8 coats of clearcoat topfinish...

Pictures of this week in the life:

Heater holding at 200 degrees

Three blown 80Amp main breakers later...no problem, thanks for the

wrong switches home depot!...Luckily the $250 CNC controller and

Solid State Relays were hooked up ok.

I shorted the circuit accidentally while working in

such a confined space and soldered the switch to

my continuity checker

Everything is working excellent, and I pressed the

first heated pair yesterday at 180 degrees in 45 mins.

Pressing cores is really easy in the new press: here are 12 cores

curing in a block, they will be resawn and planed today after they set up

More Press, More ski pressing, even some more snow

2011-02-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

We recently did an interview with Chloe Nostrant from Bozeman High School paper, Hawk Tawk. The interview ran in one issue of the school paper, and with the addition of a few sweet pictures from Steve O, just came out in the February issue of Bozeman Magazine. Its been super cool getting lots of press lately, and finally Ullr caught up early this week with some new snow. Avalanche conditions are through the roof, but hopefully by the time I get back out there they will have settled down. So, until then, I have the new press up and running, half a dozen orders to build, and some rad friends rolling in from Jackson this weekend!

To read the full story, check out:

http://bozemanmagazine.com/featured/seneca-boards-interview

And here are some updates on the new press;

dual 12 ton air/hydraulic jacks

Air controls and backup valves for lift

Testing the pneumatic control lift, also mocked up the cat track for its final design

Thats all folks, check back next week for more updates!

The itch for a first descent

2011-01-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

I have been busy doing everything imaginable lately...except skiing. While I am anxious to get mass quantities of skis finished, I have been in need of some good skiing. With Avalanche conditions settling, I have had my eyes on some lines in the Hyalites. This is a line that to my knowledge hasnt been skied yet, off of the northwest side of Flanders Mountain.

Does size really matter?... INTRODUCING the Seneca Boards 100,000 lb press!...because size does matter

2011-01-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

PHEW! A nice makeover for our press...two weeks of searching for suitable steel, designing, re-designing, derivatives, integrals and even a few baffled engineers...and...VOILA...a new press! With all of the new gizmos and gadgets installed, we should be able to bang out up to 10 pairs of skis per day with this beasts single cavity...or 20 with it set up as a double cavity press!...and maybe a few extra employees... In the meantime, thanks to everyone who helped get us to this point, especially everyone that helped with the redesign, engineering etc....Pat Lau, Riley, Ben Kinsella for the books, Laura for not hating me for talking about Seneca all day, parents, brothers etc...! Now lets see what she can do!

Busy Bees

2011-01-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

Its been a month of 5:00 am mornings and sleepless nights. Its hard to do anything but work work work trying to get tooled up and ready to produce the first batch of skis. The long hours are finally starting to pay off. With a new 120" 500lb bandsaw, an 80" edge grinder, 6000cfm dust collector, air filtration system and even a drill press, all weve been lacking is a new press

...speaking of which, here she blows!

Machined and welded legs (and the new bandsaw finally upright)

Lifting the steel: 600lbs a piece

I had to rip apart the service box to get enough juice for the welder...does this look dangerous?!

VOILA! Enough power to weld, and we even put up some drywall to keep the sparks from catching the rest of the shop on fire! Thanks for the welding Andrew, you da man!

finished frame: just waiting on the hydraulic rams

hallelujah! Holy Shit! Wheres the tylenol!?!!

2011-01-14T18:37:00.000-08:00

Yes thats right, we are now allowed to swear in the blog world...although only if its a Chevy Chase quote...but seriously, holy shit. I have been running on fumes, working my arse off and not only is there no tylenol, but its 45 degrees out and there has been no skiing either.

We are tooling up for a nice production run, building a new press, ordering bulk materials to save you, our loyal friends and future customers, money and time! While all of this continues at a wicked rate, we actually still find time to knock out some boards every day or so...and heres the latest "Murph" Prototype! So stoked at the quality the last dozen pairs, and cant wait to spec out some new models! Enjoy the photos yall!

Montana Headwall

2011-01-07T15:02:00.001-08:00

Aaron Teasdale wrote a nice piece on Seneca last month. You can view the article online at the link on the bottom of this post.

For those of you that may have read the article and wish to contact us, or learn more about us, check out our website at http://www.senecaboards.com The website is still under construction, but you can still check out a few details on there, esp. our contact info.

Thanks for hanging in there with us everyone, we cant do this without your support. And thank you Aaron Teasdale for a well written article...till next time,

-eric

http://montanaheadwall.bigskypress.com/montana/head-gear/Category?oid=1222900

Long time no see!

2011-01-07T14:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry Y'all. Life has been getting crazy, and with the winter we've had so far this year, I almost forgot I had a blog! We are working on building a new press, fixing some pipes that burst from a coldspell at the shop, and YES, we are still pressing skis! Before I left for christmas, I had a few last minute orders, as well as some patient old orders. I was able to put my head down and bust out some product, and not only are they the best skis to date, our production times are down to 5 hours per pair on the last batch of 6. Hopefully we can keep this momentum up, and if thats the case, maybe I will have more time to ski...and to post updates on the blog!

hope to see you soon back in the blogging world!

-eric

Freeskiing World Championships meet Seneca Boards

2010-03-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

Pat Owen and I headed down to the Freeskiing World Championships last week to take a break from the real world. The conditions were aweful, but the weather was beautiful, and there was plenty of free beer and food to heal our ailing parts after days one through three of the qualifiers. Stoked after pat took first and I took second on the second day, we kept up our momentum to take fourth and fifth in the world for the semi-finals. Day five was amazing, and the conditions were much better than the west baldy venue, unfortunately, we both crashed in the finals, with pat finishing 32 in the world, and myself in 44th with a DQ. All things considered, it was a week to remember, with front flips, spraffys, big airs, mistaken home mountains and misreported news... and even a once in a decade Flambe from Redman and the Alta Peruvian Lodge. Thanks to everyone that came and helped out, cheered us on and made the trip everything that it was!

Yes, my skis came off twice in the finals...it was a tough last day...but after rock carnage, a double ejection on a cork 7, and total dis-qualification all on national live television, I earned a miniscule amount of redemption with a nice front flip in front of the finish line...woa

...And then there was a news story claiming Pat and I were from Snowbird...

QUALIFIERS WRAP ON WEST BALDY:

..." Of the men that did qualify, those that came out on top were local to Salt Lake City; Pat Owen, of Snowbird earned a 35.40

score, followed by Eric Newman , of Snowbird with 34.50, behind him was David Wintzer, Park City, who nabbed a 31.83...."

But hey, you cant win em all...its been an awesome year, and despite being stuck indoors, Ive been doing what I love almost as much as skiing; building boards. It was a refreshing week, and I'm recharged and stoked to spend some more time in the shop while the snow gives way to spring time

RIP: CR Johnson

2010-02-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

CR Johnson passed away yesterdy after a fatal accident on the headwall at Squaw Valley. With avalanche conditions at their worst in our lifetime, and skiing at its most progressive, and most dangerous point in history, its amazing their havent been more sad days like today...For those of you who arent familiar with CR, check out the links for the history of one of our sports and most influential athlete of the last decade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._R._Johnson

http://freeskier.com/

R.I.P CR-

Mmmm...That is a tasty burger

2010-02-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

...and some tasty boards are in the oven,

here are some pictures to keep y'all stoked....

core template

final inspection before pressing

A finely crafted shadow

Logo! THANKS pigott, you da man

2010-02-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

Avi Photos courtesy of mtavalanche.com

The Tao of the saddle peak

2010-02-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

Yea, its true, I own a ski company and haven't skied in over a week. I hate to admit it. BUT, the shop is looking sharp, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the prototype study. Every day, all I can think about is skiing, and not being able to get out is wearing me thin. The bridger gully freeride is in two days, and then only a few weeks until the World Tour and US Freeskiing Nationals in Utah...

...then the other day I got slapped in the face when saddle peak slid to the ground. 8 foot crown, 1/4 mile wide, 2000 vertical feet with debris over 20 feet deep. Trees the size of my waist were snapped in half, and when the d4 avalanche (on a scale of destruction from 1-5) came to a halt, there were no injuries. As many as 11 people were initially reported on the face of saddle when it slid (later interviews reported far less) and miraculously, the death count was zero. So while I am a skier, torn by the sweetest job in the world, and the irony of barely skiing, and stuck inside building boards on a powder day, I am stoked to spend another day above ground, and to know that during the worst avi cycle in 100 years, my friends and family are still here too!

Stay safe

NEW SHOP PICS

2009-10-04T21:30:00.001-07:00

Our bathroom is pink...and thats just badass!

The ladies installing insulation!

...there will probably be snow in the mountains before we are finished with the framing, insulating and oodles of other preparations in the shop, but were on the fast track thanks to Laura, Pat, Jolene and Riley...we couldnt have done it without you guys!

NEW SEASON, NEW STOKE, NEW SHOP!!

2009-10-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Its snowing in bozeman, theres a winter storm warning, i havent slept in two days...and im stoked!
After much negotiation and deliberation, we signed a lease on a new building. The last two 14 hour weekend work days have consisted of inhaling fiberglass insulation (dont worry, formaldehyde
free!), ralying an insurance-less u-haul, and outfitting the shop...The new season is on its way, we are finishing up the 2009 prototypes, budgeting for new tools, booking new interns (did we have those before?) and a new press is in the mail!

Summertime and the livin's busy

2009-08-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a few months since our last post, however that doesn't mean we here at Seneca have been slacking. Besides giving this little blogamabob a facelift, the elves in the factory have been cranking out skis for your snow sliding pleasure. After bribing Seneca craftsman with cases of beer, we have been allowed to give you a sneak peak of the process to get you through these snowless days....Enjoy!

2009 Design Show

2009-04-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

After 200 hours of relentless work over the last 5 days, we have three $1000 prototypes ready for Drew Pigotts Senior Design Show. Good comments and a good atmosphere boosted our spirits and possibly Ullrs, who reciprocated with 30 inches of new snow, maybe well even find a way to do what it is we started this company for; ride some powder!

GETTIN DEEEEEEEP!

2009-02-26T19:37:00.000-08:00

Thats right, its snowing in B-town, and things are getting over our heads! Last weekend saw some triple overhead airs into sketchy couloirs, the previous weekend saw overhead powder for the Utah shoot and epic sessions on new gaps that were well, WELL overhead...and if this storm is any indicator, Seneca should be in over its head by the end of the weekend! The orders are flooding in, the 'office' is getting crazy, and we might be hiring some part time help to keep up the momentum and bring the snazz to the rail jam! Check back soon folks, well have some serious updates in the near future!! PRAY FOR MORE SNOW!

Seneca Boards: Official 2009 Rail Jam Sponsor

2009-02-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

AND...The 2009 Chamberlin Rail Jam is in need of YOUR help,

this is a free event so help the boys at Chamberlin Productions keep it that way. Volunteer by calling Ashley @ 406 539 2109

Friday March 6th

9:30PM - 2:00AM 10 Volunteers

Saturday March 7th

7:00AM - 12:00PM 10 Volunteers

12:00PM - 5:00PM 5 Volunteers

5:00PM - 10:00PM 5 Volunteers

10:00PM - Finish 15 Volunteers

Volunteers will get a Free meal during their shift.Depending on the shift(s) you will receive either;*Skull Candy Ear Buds*Big Sky Lift Ticket*Rail Jam T- Shirt

The man, the myth and the legend; Tate Chamberlins Chamberlin Airways

2009-02-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

Tate Chamberlin from Bozeman based Chamberlin Productions designed these sick stix about a month ago, and they should be ready for sending lines in AK by mid-month! The graphics are sublimed into the topsheet for the most crisp, scratch-resistant, hardcore ripping topsheet offered on the market today...and not only will they be accompanied by an Armada ARV inspired set of sticks, theyll also be ridden by our first sponsoree, Tate Chamberlin! Check out the full set later this winter when we give away two more pairs at the season blowout Rail Jam march 7th on main street, B-town! Stop by, check it out, enter...Get some! Thats all i got for now, gotta start packin for Utah!

The prototypes are done, the cow is fat, its time to slaughter

2009-02-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

Thats right, Were wrapping up the prototypes, the emails are flowing in and its time to start making skis for the masses! The last few weeks have been out of control. We have our trusty graphic designer, Drew Pigott working on logos, brand identity development, and most importantly, GRAPHICS! We went on the air live last thursday with Missy at KISS FM to chat about our skis and the rail jam in March (the 7th to be exact), and this weekend we've got an interview with a reporter from the Kaimin in Missoula! The ski press is currently en route to its new shop location, along with its new facelift and a boatload of tools...but more importantly, its started snowing again, and thats what were here for after all! So, without further adieu, were getting our feet off the ground (pun intended, see wet martini on left!) with our man Tate Chamberlins product, the Chamberlin Airways...take it easy for now, well be back real soon with some details, ski gossip, more pictures...and WAY more stoke!