What is a `carriage bow?
This is the quaint name, of uncertain origin, for a bow that can be broken down into to parts — presumably for carriage. The two parts were typically joined, when the bow was in use, by a steel tube about a foot long. As well as being more convenient for the shooter, many bowyers consider carriage self-bows easier to construct than one-piece self-bows, despite the increased mechanical complexity. The reason for this is that it allows the bowyer to use two shorter staves of wood instead of one full-length piece, and is easier to find two short pieces of straight-grained wood than one long one.