When I was growing up it was called diddlin. Going down into the basement with grampa. We'd go through the boxes of nuts/bolts/screws/tools, through the metal boxes of "stuff" we hadn't looked at in months, through the fishin'and huntin' stuff.
Eventually, Grandma would holler downstairs "what are you guys doin' down there". Answer was always "nothin' just diddlin' around"

Flyfishing my way through mid-life crisis.