Regarding the proper lubricant for wood parts (band organ crank-rods,
for example) -- if any is really needed at all -- I'd be interested in
what Craig Brougher or Mike Kitner say to the question.

The recommended lubricant for wood slide valves, where wood rides on
wood, is dry graphite.  (Player Piano Company's trick to getting the
graphite to penetrate the wood is to wet the wood surface with alcohol
to open the pores, then rub in the graphite with a hard felt, such as
a spare piano hammer head).

A lot of the wear in wood-to-metal friction seems to be on the metal,
from abrasive particles picked up by the wood, which embed themselves
in the wood and act over time like a grinding wheel to wear down the
metal.  It seems to me that using a grease on such surfaces only
encourages that action as air-borne grit sticks on the greasy surface.
But is any lubricant really needed on band organ crank rods?

This isn't meant to be definitive but only a starting point for
discussion.

Matthew Caulfield