Man, this one hit hard for me. I feel you on the overcomplicating thing because I did the exact same stuff when I got into book repair, buying fancy glue and clamps and all this gear I barely touched, when a librarian could've shown me in ten minutes that wheat paste and a decent brush do most of the work. That bit about the bone folders getting retired after 15 years says everything, those tools earned that shine and the people using them earned the know how. It honestly bums me out that we treat library workrooms like they're off limits, because there's so much free knowledge sitting in those rooms. The $6 fix beating your $200 rebinding job is the perfect example of why simple usually wins.

That thing about the tube walking in the rolls brings back a memory. We had a job where every tube came out with a slight bow and we chased it for two days. Turned out the shop was storing the tubes on a rack that sagged in the middle, so they had a tiny bend before they ever hit the rolls. Once we flipped the rack over and braced it, problem gone. Funny how the tube tells you what's wrong if you look close enough. Ten thousandths is nothing until it's everything.