I already took them off the briefcase. I decided to destroy the briefcase before my daughter could claim this one too.
The hardware was held on with little rivets. I just pried the latches off. I'll replace the rivets with little brass screws. The handle was held on with rivets that appear to be part of the handle. I ground the ends off the rivets to get the handle off. That one is going to take more work if I can make it work at all. The plan is to drill straight down the pegs of the handle then tap the holes for some appropriate sized screws.
Here's the hardware I plan to use.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]481559[/ATTACH]
I can't buy the screws today. If the hardware store is open, they shouldn't be.
I'll be happy to post some progress shots as I work on it.
Happy 4th of July!
Rodney