This article reminds me of my grandfather as well, who sadly passed away two weeks ago. He was a mechanical engineer, and a real craftsman.
One example we, in our family, like to remember is how he fixed the car during a long vacation trip by his own when the engine suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. He realized the problem and used his constantly at hand pocketknife and a metal can box he found thrown on the sideways to fix the car. The mechanics had hard time to remove the fix in the garage and replace it with an original part!
Sounds like our grandfathers might have gotten along; mine had much the same spirit and ingenuity you described. Hopefully some of that is passed on to us :)
One example we, in our family, like to remember is how he fixed the car during a long vacation trip by his own when the engine suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. He realized the problem and used his constantly at hand pocketknife and a metal can box he found thrown on the sideways to fix the car. The mechanics had hard time to remove the fix in the garage and replace it with an original part!