Like a blue Death Star...
I loaded my first 100 rounds on the machine. I feel like Darth Vader must have felt when he blew up Alderaan. This machine is fully operational! I will post some pics later of the setup.
The 1050 is a dream to use, although I am very glad it was not my first reloading machine, or my first progressive. It is starting to make more sense to me, it's an intimidating piece of machinery. I understand why you wouldn't want to try and work up loads with this machine. It seems better suited to the "set it and forget it" approach. Although I appreciate how all the adjustments, with the exception of the swager and primer seating, are all locked in, so if I ever wanted to do a caliber change, all the settings stay constant. That was my gripe with the Hornady LNL AP, that getting the case belling and setting the casefeeder up to work correctly was too fiddly. But for now I have a pile of range 9mm brass to turn into loaded rounds!
Thank you to everyone who helped me out, especially GW Staar! The bench is rock solid, and the loader feels like it is welded on. At some point I'll need advice on what kind of shelves and whatnot I'll put behind the bench on the wall. But for now I can't wait to try out my first loads!