I have made many different barrel gears for vintage barrel organs
and have written articles on this process.  Please see my web site
for copies:  http://www.studio801.com/Gary%20G%20Stevenson.htm 

This page of my Studio web site has my articles written on the subject
of barrel gears.  The article on making these gears was also translated
to Dutch and it is listed there as well.

_Never_ use petroleum products on wooden gears.  It will _rot_ your
barrel gear.  Likewise, never use anything with salt -- it will do the
same.  If you do, you will likely then have to contact me to have me
make a new wooden gear for you.

The substance I use is un-salted pigs fat and powdered graphite.  Fat
is the binder, the graphite is the lubricant.  I start with trimming
the fat off of pork chops or other pork products.  (All the fat that is
used must _not_ be salted.)

I save up quite a lot of this fat in the refrigerator until I am ready.
When I have enough then I render it.  To do this the fat is placed into
a pot of water on the stove at low heat and it boils for an hour or
better.

I pour off the liquid into a bowl and discard the pieces of fat
remaining in the pot.  The bowl of hot liquid is allowed to cool in the
refrigerator or freezer for a couple of hours.

Grease, being an oil product, floats to the top of the bowl of liquid
and turns solid and white.  This is the stuff I want.  I place it in a
jar and save it as part of my organ grease.

It has no smell and will not get one later.  I then spoon powdered
graphite into this fat until no more will mix in.  I do not want loose
powder in my jar.  Likewise, I do not want any sign of the white fat in
the jar either.  It should be an even mix of the two products.

I then cap the jar and save it until I need it on my organ.

Gary G. Stevenson
Carondelet, Missouri (South St.Louis)