The blacksmith in Þingeyri

Gramsverlun ceased operations in 1898 upon the death of Níel C. Gram. The store was taken over by another company, Grams Handel, which was a subsidiary of P. Thorsteinsson in Bíldudalur. In 1908 the store came under the ownership of Milljónafélag, which went bankrupt in 1914, and finally in 1913 under the ownership of Br. Proppé.

Grams Handel ran a workshop under the direction of Bjarni Guðbrandur, who was the mentor of Guðmundur J. Sigurðsson, after whom the workshop is named today. Bjarni Guðbrandur supported Guðmundur's study in Denmark and Norway, and a letter of recommendation dated 25.Jan. 1906 is a confirmation of this.

After Guðmundur returned home in 1908, he worked for Grams Handel, in the years up to 1913. Grams Handel probably began the first phase of the construction of the current workshop in 1912, because full work began in the new workshop in January 1913. Grams Handel's support for Guðmundur's studies was with the condition that he would work for them for some time after he completed his studies. The workshop quickly became known for its quality and good service.

During the war years, when it was difficult to procure spare parts, spare parts of all sizes and types were cast there, for both foreign and domestic ships. The forge was also a school for metalworking, and it was desirable to study there because of the variety of forge operations. There, men learned welding, electric welding, turning, blacksmithing in a fire forge, metal casting, and most other things that are done in a forge.

Guðmundur J. Sigurðsson fully acquired the forge in 1927. The forge was in operation until 1995 and is still occasionally used for all kinds of mechanical engineering and metal casting.

The Westfjords Museum of Local History received the forge for preservation at the beginning of 2014.

GJS machine shop in Þingeyri

GJS Machine Shop