I too am like that, very often to my wife's dismay! And sometimes come up with very creative solutions. Some years ago, at work I had a problem with what's called the Electronics Unit (EU) of a VERY expensive piece of analytical equipment (±R5 million at that time).
To replace the EU would have cost about R500 000. I dismantled the EU to inspect the innards. I saw that the main controller was a sort of custom computer, and the communications interface between the computer and the analytical equipment was an ISA slot card. I searched for an older computer that still had an ISA slot, and then MacGyver-ed it to work, saving the company not only money, but valuable time because that analyser is used to measure parts per billion components that kills the catalyst in the reactors. Catalyst replacement costs millions. This analyser has to run 24/7/365 to detect the presence of the catalyst killers so that steps can be taken if it exceeds a certain level.
Instead of having the reactors running "blind" for 6-8 weeks, I got this analyser back online within a few days. The EU is custom built on order, and only manufactured by one company in the USA. At the end of this exercise I at least got a cursory mention in our morning meetings, but that's a discussion for another day. I too am not (was, went on pension as of 1 April this year) in the IT industry.
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