Machine safety guard

A safety guard for a production machine having an emergency circuit for stopping the machine, said safety guard comprising a guard lever disposed between the hazardous area of the machine where injury can occur and the machine operator and, in a first position, forming a shield restricting access to said hazardous area and, in a second position, permitting free access to said area, pivot means for connecting said guard lever at one end to the machine, an activating arm connected to said pivot means, a switch operated by movement of said arm and said lever, a generally horizontally positioned balance arm connected to said activating arm, a weight disposed and moveable longitudinally on said balance arm for controlling the force required to move said lever and to operate said switch, and an electric circuit connecting said switch to the emergency circuit of the production machine so that movement of said guard lever to said second position interrupts the machine operating cycle through the emergency circuit.