a method of cutting off the flow of material being extruded from a dispensing head is disclosed . the method involves interrupting the flow of material by shearing the material in a direction transverse to its direction of flow at the end of a dispensing cycle . in addition , the method involves tightly closing the extrusion openings of dispensing apparatus . apparatus embodying the invention readily utilized with a variety of different types of equipment and in conjunction with end frames of differing sizes and configurations . the apparatus may be constructed such that auxiliary power means are not required in order to perform the flow control function .