Cutting machine

A cutting machine having a frame on which a cutting arm is attached, said cutting arm including at least one cutting head which can be swiveled around a horizontal axis and a vertical axis, a loading ramp pivotally attached to said frame and disposed below said cutting arm so that it can be swiveled around a horizontal axis, first hydraulic drive means for effecting the lifting and lowering of said cutting arm, second hydraulic drive means for moving said loading ramp and stopping means responsive to changes in the relative vertical distance between said cutting arm and said loading ramp for stopping further movement of said cutting arm and said loading ramp toward one another when the vertical distance between said cutting arm and said loading ramp does not exceed a first predetermined distance, said stop means including a first and second stop member respectively mounted on said cutting arm and said loading ramp so as to come into engagement with one another as said cutting arm and said loading ramp are pivoted toward one another, at least one of said first and second stop members being movably mounted, said movably mounted stop member including a pivotally mounted elongated actuating member and valve means for relieving pressure in said first and second hydraulic drive means in response to movement of said movable stop member when said first predetermined distance is not exceeded, and the other of said stop members includes an elongated member for mating with the elongated actuating member in said movable stop member, said stop means including two pairs of said first and second stop members said pairs being respectively mounted on opposite sides of said cutting arm and said loading ramp so that as said cutting arm traverses back and forth over said loading ramp the elongated member of one of the two pairs of stop members will abut if said first predetermined distance is not exceeded.