Just had to try a shot at carving i found this very therapeutic,less stressful than trying to upload the pictures #-o .I carved this out of oak then finished it of with danish oil it is 60mm.
Nice. Good idea to start with straight lines as well. Lettering is always a good challenge. As you say, it's very therapeutic, also it costs next to nothing to learn and you can do it in the warm and dry because it creates little mess.