A sliding plate rheometer has been developed to measure the normal thrust of a molten plastic in large amplitude oscillatory shear. The normal thrust of a molten plastic in large amplitude oscillatory shear is a significant nonlinear effect that has previously been unobtainable. Normal thrust measurements may now be used to help understand and characterize nonlinear viscoelastic behavior inherent in most molten plastics. The new rheometer incorporates a piezoelectric pressure transducer in a very stiff plate that minimizes compliance. Normal thrust measurements with cone and plate rheometers are made by measuring the total force on the plate (or cone) and are subject to error due to edge effects. The new rheometer measures the local pressure in the sample and is therefore unaffected by sample size or edge effects. Normal thrust measurements in large amplitude oscillatory shear are reported for both molten Phillips TR480 high density polyethylene pipe resin which contains 2% by weight of carbon black filler and IUPAC LDPE X. Crosstalk due to shear stress on the active face of the pressure transducer causes signal error which for oscillatory shear is filtered out using a discrete Fourier transform.