Hobbyist by Eric Frank Russell. 1947. His name is Steve and his companion is a macaw named Laura. I have it in this collection: Astounding Tales of Space and Time
"Publication: Astounding Tales of Space and Time", The Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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"Title: Hobbyist", The Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Within ten minutes he'd found a great coil of the coppery metal, a huge ovoid, intricately wound, lying beside a disassembled machine... ...His hands were trembling slightly but his hawklike face was firm, phlegmatic as he carefully threaded the wire's end through the automatic injector and into the feed hole of the Kingston-Kanes.
