Shaved Door handles

[Mrfixit]

I'm not exactly sure what you said (you may want to proof-read your question) but I think your situation is that the solenoid has less travel then the locking latch. I had a similar situation and what I did for mine was to make a pivot lever. What I mean is: think of a lever arm that is fastened on one end so it will pivot. If you put two holes in the arm, one 1/2" from the pivot point and one 1" from the pivot point, the outer hole will have more travel over the same sweep angle. In English, if the inner hole travels a about 1/2" over 90-degrees, then the outer hole will travel 1" (or twice as far as the inner hole.

When trying to fit the solenoid in the best locations, here are some good rules-of-thumb: If both holes are on the same side of the pivot, the push/pull will be the same direction. If the holes are on opposite sides, the push/pull will be in the opposite directions. If the holes are located 90-degrees apart, then the push/pull will be perpendicular to each other.

I hope this helps,