AusBonsai

Looked up Wiki to determine when is the best time to do heavy branch pruning of black pines in the section "What to do in each month"
There are two references as follows; Ref 1# Winter is the time for Heavy Pruning, Wiring and Needle plucking of Pines. Ref 2# Heavy Branch Pruning of Pines should be done during April
Would appreciate advice from your experience as to which is correct.

yes, that information is correct. Both April and during winter is fine as the sap flow is minimal then. I would suggest cutting off the branch and leaving a stub about 20mm long, then trim flush about six months later.

I just asked Yusuke Uchida, bonsai professional from Aichi-en staying with us.

He agreed, the best time is winter, but can be done in Autumn too.

If it is a really large branch over 1/4 of the trunk size leave a stub like Brian suggests then cut it off the next year.

Thanks Brian & Scott your clarification is most appreciated.
I have a black pine that is approx. 45 years old and through ignorance & neglect on my part over the years it has become very leggy.
It does have a major side branch low down which does not really fit in with the major trunk so I am considering removing this branch.
The major trunk has all growth at the top so was considering remodeling to a literati style. This will mean the removal of a lot of the leggy growth at the top.
Would appreciate your thoughts if I should do this major remodel in stages over a period of time to allow the tree to recover or just do it all at once.