A jointer may also be used to flatten the face of a board, in which case the sole focus is to produce a flat surface on the face of the board and the fence is not used. This procedure is often performed prior to edge jointing so that the board has a flat reference face for subsequent operations. jointer that is used for rebating has the outside ends of its blades also sharpened and set with a small clearance from the cutter head. A jointer cannot be used to create a board of even thickness along its length.