Abstract: A guard at the inlet side of the nip of two rolls in a calender or a like machine has an elongated support which is mounted in the machine frame for movement toward and away from the rolls at the inlet side of the nip. The support carries two elongated strips each of which is adjacent one of the rolls and has several sections. The support carries discrete moving mechanisms for the sections of each strip regardless of whether the sections are discrete sections or such sections form parts of a one-piece strip. This renders it possible to select and alter the width of the entire clearance between each strip and the periphery of the respective roll regardless of eventual deformation of the support and/or of the rolls.