The depth gauge setting determines how deep the cutting tooth will cut. If the depth gauge setting is set very low, the plane takes a very small amount of wood.
If the depth gauge is set too high the cutting tooth will cut too deeply into the wood. This creates a more aggressive cut resulting in high vibration. This also increases the risk of kickback and exposes the chainsaw to unnecessary stress.
Check the depth gauge every 3-5 times that you sharpen the chain during normal wear, and more often during excessive wear. Use the depth gauge tool and flat file to check and set the correct height. “Soft” and “Hard” stamped on the gauge refers to soft wood (conifers) and frozen or hard wood (leaf trees).