Is anyone putting a slit in the lower bearing race before putting it on the fork ?? so that it can be removed easily later on???
don’t do it, it will defeat the purpose of the race.
Absolutely not!!! Doing that will dramatically shorten the life of the headset (by 100%) and impede the function of the component, impacting on your safety.
The lower headset bearing is one of the most critical bearings on the bike, it holds the entire weight-bearing load going through the fork. The top bearing only preloads the bottom one to help control turning and braking forces.