Mark - I have no actual experience with red oak and epoxy, but consider this - red oak is high in tannic acid. That's why it is used for casks in the winemaking industry. White vinegar, also a mild acid, is used to neutralize epoxy. Epoxy is alkaline. When combined with acid, it reacts to form a new compound that is no longer epoxy. In her excellent strip building book "Illustrated Guide to Wood Strip Canoe Building", Susan Van Leuven describes a failure she had with epoxy and an oak gunwale. It may hold forever, it may not. Why tempt fate? - John