Living in a rural smallish town, we bump into a fair bit of the barter economy. Banjo lessons for food truck lunches, graphic design for hard cider, woodworking for childcare, etc…In this case I get to make a banjo to help pay for the amazing wood I get from Kevin and Irwin at woodfromthewest.com. I used a unique pistachio fretboard paired with some amazing two color curly maple from Zena Forest Products in Salem, another favorite supplier. This is the last board from this tree, begged from Ben when I went to Zena this summer for the old woodworking machines meetup. I have it in the lower open G tuning, which seems to work best with maple. I am told Irwin likes to play with members of his family, who play guitar and banjo. I send this little banjo as my contribution from one family business to another. Here’s to many more years of woodworking and music!