The boom–type roadheaders are commonly used for drilling roadways in underground mines and tunnels in civil engineering. Rock cutting in the heading face of the roadways or tunnels is carried out on the principle of cutting with picks, most often conical. The cutting tools are subjected to strong dynamic loads that are the reaction of the rock-cut to the cutting picks. This applies in particular to the cutting of hard rocks. The high variability of the picked load has an unfavorable effect on the fatigue strength and the durability of picks and pick holders, the durability of the main roadheader components and the course of the cutting process. The article presents selected results of the R–130 roadheader (manufactured by Famur S.A.) obtained during simulated excavation of the heading face at the experimental stand in the Technological Hall of the Faculty of Mining and Geology at the Silesian University of Technology. During these tests, forces acting directly on the three conical picks of the cutting head were recorded. This enabled the identification of the size and nature of the actual load of the picks on the cutting head of the roadheader while cutting the rock mass with various workability in different conditions of this process. For the recording of components of the picks load, an innovative, autonomous measurement & recording system was used. This system has been built inside the cutting head of the tested roadheader. It has been equipped with specially designed pick holders (measuring devices) with built–in force sensors.