I've drilled and tapped 5 stems for bells: Cinelli 1A, two Technomics, a Technomic Deluxe, and an SR Custom. That's all my bikes. I don't think it's a problem. A lot of them are also drilled for the brake cable as well.
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ThermionicScott That one you posted in your original post looks like an SR Custom. Those are forged, and especially beefy based on my experience. And like I said, I drilled one, both for a cable stop and a bell.
The original René Herse stem on my tandem is aluminum with a drilled and tapped hole for a bell also.
I talked to a couple machinists and none of them thought it would fail. I did this last year. Here are a few.