GaryG in MD
Steve,

You have gotten a lot of good advice here.

Let me add two more facts:

1) red oak has a very high warpage factor, so for twice-turned bowls, make sure your roughouts are at least 10% thick or you won't be able to get them round again.

2) red oak is notorious for the soft wood sanding away preferentially and leaving a wavy surface (instead of the grain pattern) that is generally unattractive, so create your final shapes carefully with cutting tools and don't sand any more than necessary.

...Gary