Did all 590's come with the support brace that ties the front and rear handles together?
I picked up a 590, and this one did not have the brace. I seen some partner 5000's that did not have them
As far as I know, all 590's came with the brace. The 490's did not. I can't say 100% for sure, but I'm 99% sure.
I'm basing this on all the different IPL's I've seen and pictures and my personal saws.
I have 3 590's I believe and probably 4 or 5 490's... all the 590's have the brace and none of the 490's do.
The 590 brace is different from the Partner 5000 braces. They use a different shaped starter cover, the covers will fit each other however.
The 590 brace has a section cut out to allow clearance for the starter cover as the saw torques under the av.
I do have several braces if your needing/wanting one, however I'd have to check if I have any with the cut-out for the 590.
You can always carefully cut/grind/file a 5000 brace to make it identical to a 590 brace.
You will also need the rear av mount to accept the brace, the stud is longer. There is a good chance you have the correct av mount already
Possibly the brace broke and the previous owner just removed it. I doubt he'd put a 490 av mount in it's place, but anythings possible.
I can give you the measurements of the stud to determine what av mount you have, or you can post a pic... I might be able to tell by looking at it.
Other than that, if you decide to go with the brace, the only other thing you need is a longer screw for the front which I most likely have also, or you
can order it from Poulan for a 325. I think the screw is still available, but I think the rear av mount is NLA.
There is also a lot of good info on the 590 in the Partner thread, since it's really a Partner.
Here's one of my 590's so you can see what I'm talking about.
