Been doing it by feel since around the same time and yeah, it can bite you. The thing is, feel works great until it doesn't, and you never know which chain is the one where your hand was a little off that day. I started using the depth gauge on stubborn or cheap chains just to take the guesswork out. It's not about skill, it's about the fact that 0.5mm is way smaller than what your fingers can actually tell apart. A pin that's pressed a hair too far can still look fine and hold fine for a while, then let go under load. Keep the feel if you want but back it up with the gauge, it costs you two seconds.

It's like how a favorite pair of jeans feels better than a brand new pair.

Oven's been cold since March. Used to think air fryers were a gadget fad, another thing taking up counter space. Then I did a whole chicken in there on a Tuesday and it came out perfect. Even reheats pizza better than the microwave ever could. 200 meals is solid proof, not crazy at all.