His rapid acquisition of expertise attracted the attention of the Maldon antique and musical instrument dealer C. W. Jeffreys, whose firm he joined in 1905 as repairer and violin-maker.
His workshop established the careers of many other leading Australian violin makers such as Charles Clarke, Guy Aubrey Griffin, William Dolphin, Harry Vatiliotis and his own daughter, Kitty Smith.
His presence as a luthier in Australia encouraged the development of local orchestras and violin teaching, as well as foreign virtuoso violinists through giving the confidence to accept Australian concert engagements and subject their precious instruments to long sea-voyages.
He was a traditionalist, using only well-matured woods such as European maples for the ribs, scrolls and backs of the instruments, and Swiss or Italian pine for the bellies.
In 1938, his daughter, Ruth, married Ernest Llewellyn – a violinist, violist and conductor who later became the founding director of the Canberra School of Music.
In 1947, the American violinist Isaac Stern, who was visiting Australia for the first time, attended a performance by the Queensland State String Quartet and was "struck by the tonal qualities of the violin being played by the leader", Ernest Llewellyn.
[2] Smith's reputation for an even sound and tonal quality reminiscent of the Cremonese masters attracted the interest not only of leading Australian players but of the world's great violinists, violists and cellists; in addition to Isaac Stern, those who acquired and used A. E. Smith violins included Yehudi Menuhin (whose sister Hephzibah had played the Beethoven sonatas with Ernest Llewellyn),[2] Tossy Spivakovsky,[3] Ruggiero Ricci, David Oistrakh, Emily Sun[4] and Zlatko Baloković .
The cello of the quartet held by the National Museum of Australia can be heard played by cellist David Pereira on an audio file.