William,
I did not intend to implying you didn't have the acumen to test pressures. But I do know that in any development work on munitions calibration of the setup is mandatory if you want to obtain absolute values rather than relative values. Many times the strain gauges are tested with static pressure using fluids under certifiable pressure to verify the results. I also know that most of the hobbyist setups usually indicate in their manuals the pressures are only relative. Also, the top pressures are not limited to 11,500psi. That is just one of the measures SAAMI specifies and is an average. You can find SAAMI specs on line quite easily. I don't know what Tom Armbrust would say, but suspect he would be quite generous in helping you to achieve a reliable baseline. For just a few dollars you could compare your tests of a few loads against his tests of the same lot which if our roles were reversed would be of great interest to me.
