A jointer or in some configurations, a jointer-planer (also known in the UK and Australia as a planer or surface planer, and sometimes also as a buzzer or flat top) is a

woodworking machine A Woodworking machine is a machine that is intended to process wood. These machines are usually powered by electric motors and are used extensively in woodworking. Sometimes grinding machines (used for grinding down to smaller pieces) are also cons ...

used to produce a flat surface along a board's length. As a jointer, the machine operates on the narrow edge of boards, preparing them for use as

butt joint A butt joint is a technique in which two pieces of material are joined by simply placing their ends together without any special shaping. The name "butt joint" comes from the way the material is joined. The butt joint is the simplest joint to ma ...

or gluing into panels. A planer-jointer setup has the width that enables smoothing ''('surface planing')'' and leveling the faces (widths) of boards small enough to fit the tables.

Name

The jointer derives its name from its primary function of producing flat edges on boards prior to

joining Join may refer to: * Join (law), to include additional counts or additional defendants on an indictment *In mathematics: ** Join (mathematics), a least upper bound of sets orders in lattice theory ** Join (topology), an operation combining two topo ...

them edge-to-edge to produce wider boards. The use of this term probably arises from the name of a type of hand plane, the

jointer plane The jointer plane, also known as the try plane or trying plane, is a type of hand plane used in woodworking to straighten the edges of boards in the process known as jointing, and to flatten the faces of larger boards. Its long length is designed ...

, which is also used primarily for this purpose. "Planer" is the normal term in the UK and Australia for what is called a "jointer" in North America, where the former term refers exclusively to a

thickness planer A thickness planer (also known in the UK and Australia as a thicknesser or in North America as a planer) is a woodworking machine to trim boards to a consistent thickness throughout their length. This machine transcribes the desired thickness us ...

Design

Fundamentally, a jointer's table arrangement is designed with two levels like a narrower