i think welded stems are ugly as sin, and i'd say they're much more likely to break than a solid stem

I have the same stem.

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/...001800x600.jpg

This my new stem after reading this thread. An old Fuji stem and a Topo quill to threadless adapter that was $10 at my local Performance. I'm in the process of polishing them since they were black with Fuji logos.

Az