My best success for lubrication of wood and felt bushed player rod
bearings is to boil them in paraffin heavily saturated with powdered
graphite.  Bearings will go together very snug and there should be an
excess of cool wax that's peeled out of the hole during assembly, which
gives a pretty much zero clearance yet slippery bearing surface.  With
a few exceptions, the bearings remain quiet after 20 years and more.
One must exercise caution because of fire hazard while boiling the
parts.

Tom Binnall