PowerMatic Wood Lathes

In 1921, Leonard F. Smith, Sr. was a seller of timber and rough-cut lumber in the McMinnville community of middle Tennessee. He believed he could make a better product to sell if he first planed the wood himself. Instead of purchasing a planing machine from an existing manufacturer, he decided to build his own in his workshop on the family farm. Upon completion, he used it in his lumber and timber business. Shortly afterward an individual offered to purchase the machine. Mr. Smith used the money to build four more planers, which he offered for sale to others he knew in the lumber industry.