At this point, a decision has been made as to the height of the tree. A good portion of the apex was removed, keeping in mind that the direction of the apex should reflect the the direction of the trunk coming out of the soil.

Removing a large portion of the apex will also give the lower branches a chance to regain some vigor. You can see in the original picture how much denser the apex is compared to the lower branches. The apex has taken over. If left unchecked, the lower branches would become weaker and weaker and eventually die.

As the tree looked just before wiring was begun.

As a matter of personal preference, I try to avoid crossing the trunk with wire. The apex is the exception because there are usually many small branches that need wiring and the wire does have to be well anchored in order to be able to place branches properly.

If this approach to wiring is going to be used, a bit of planning has to go into it!

One of the possible two fronts that eventually became the back.

This photo also shows the branching nicely. Note that the tree has taken on that triangular shape and a round crown, which is seen to be a sign of age.