I was looking for an unintrusive place to mount a bell or perhaps a headlamp and i came across this solution from velo orange: http://www.velo-orange.com/spbemo.html

Unfortunately, I don't have enough room for a headset spacer, but he mentions old french builders used to tap the stem and screw the bell directly in. This seems like a much better solution, and a decent weekend project for my Nitto Technomic.

I called my LBS in brooklyn and they basically said we're not screwing with the stem. If it cracks because of vibration, etc. they don't want the liability. Good old Sheldon B makes tapping sound pretty easy, but what do you guys think? Am I entering a world of potential hurt? I imagine it would only require drilling a 5/32" hole less than half an inch deep. Would this compromise the structural integrity of the stem?