An attractive idea to stop unwanted drawer movement

After 20 years of daily use, the drawers in our bedroom chest began to creep forward when another drawer was closed, due to trapped air trying to escape. I could have replaced the slightly worn drawer slides, but at considerable hassle and expense. Instead, I mounted a pair of magnets to each drawer back, and similarly sized steel plates on the carcase back.

With the drawers completely closed, a ¹⁄₃₂ " gap between the magnet and plate provides just enough attraction to keep the drawers shut without an excessive amount of resistance when opening one. You may have to experiment with that spacing depending on the size and strength of your magnets.

—Tony Rush, Springfield, Ore.