Beech tree cleanup

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Oldtoolsnewproblems

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Doing my dad a favor this weekend and removing some dead branches from the huge beech in his front yard. It's maybe 5-6' DBH and good and healthy, but we can see 10 ish completely dead branches, a few of which are over his sitting area, so I offered to go up and get them down. He plans to have a pro come out this winter and go over the tree more critically, but this will ease his mind for the summer. Removing the dead branches is straight forward, but there is one spot I don't know if I should address or save for the pros.
About 30ft up there are two small/medium sized branches rubbing really badly, eating into each other etc. Is it better to take them out ASAP, only remove the lower of the pair, or just ignore until the dormant season comes around and let the pro fix it?

Honestly I spent my whole childhood wanting to climb this tree. Now that I have an excuse and proper gear, I'm very excited to get into it, even if I don't do all the work I said I would haha! I'll post some photos when I have a chance to get them
 
Crossing branches are usually not a concern. I they are large, then it is highly likely that removing one of them is far worse than doing nothing. Reducing end weight of the two limbs (pro work for sure) may turn the rubbing point into a contact point that may even become a natural brace. A pruning cut opens end grain which is worse than rubbing which opens side grain.

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cutting deadwood from an old Beech is likely not straight forward. most often this deadwood has a long sleeve of a branch collar, growing out along the deadwood This live wood should not be cut into. So you are left with stubs in a sense. You should be sure not to leave a ring of live tissue around the deadwood.

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K great, that was my understanding, that cutting the dead branches was to allow the collar to "close up" over the dead branches faster than just waiting for them to rot it get snapped off naturally. And I figured I didn't want to circumcise the existing growth that has started the process, but rather cut only dead wood as close as I safely can to the leading edge of the growth.
 

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