Collection: Milwaukee SHOCKWAVE Sockets & Drill Bits

What is on this page, in plain terms

Three groups of Milwaukee accessory, all of them built for tools that hit rather than just spin.

Impact-duty sockets make up about half the page, in both 3/8in and 1/2in drive, in SAE and metric, mostly in deep lengths with one standard-length set. All are 6-point. Two of the sets ship in PACKOUT-compatible cases, which matters only if you already run PACKOUT — the sockets inside are the same either way.

Step drill bits are the second group, and they run from a general-purpose #4 that covers 3/16in up to 7/8in, through mid-size bits that step in 1/16in increments, to larger ones reaching 1-3/8in. If you cut sheet metal, panels or conduit knockouts, the size range you need is the only question worth asking here.

The third group is bit kits: a carbide hammer drill bit kit for masonry, and a 100-piece SHOCKWAVE assortment in a PACKOUT case covering impact-rated driving and drilling accessories.

One thing worth saying up front. If you came looking for a screwdriver bit set — Phillips, square, Torx, hex — the 100-piece kit is the item here that covers you. Everything else on this page is sockets, step bits or masonry bits. Better you know that now than when the box arrives.

Are impact driver bits different from regular bits?

Yes, and the difference matters more than most people expect. An impact driver does not just spin. It hammers rotationally, firing thousands of short blows per minute through the bit and into the fastener. A standard screwdriver bit is hard and brittle. Hit it with that action long enough and it snaps, usually at the tip or where the hex meets the body.

Impact-rated bits are engineered to flex under that hammering instead of shattering. That is the whole design idea behind SHOCKWAVE. You will still wear tips out — every bit wears out — but you are far less likely to have one break off inside a screw head halfway up a ladder.

The connection point is standard. Impact drivers take a 1/4in hex shank, and that interface is the same across the major brands. Any bit or holder with a 1/4in hex shank drops into any 1/4in hex impact driver, which is why a Milwaukee bit works in a DeWalt or Makita tool. Brand loyalty applies to the tool, not the socket in the nose of it.

Two practical notes. If you are driving with a plain drill/driver on a clutch, standard bits are fine — there is no hammering to survive. And a bit holder or extension takes a lot of the abuse in high-volume driving, so buy that impact-rated too. A hardened non-impact holder is a common failure point people blame on the bit.

Step drill bits: sheet metal, enclosures and conduit knockouts

A step drill bit is the right tool for thin material. It cuts a hole and then enlarges it in stages, so one bit covers a whole range of diameters instead of a stack of twist bits. It also leaves a rounder, cleaner hole in sheet stock than a twist bit, which tends to grab, chatter and pull a triangular hole in thin metal.

Match the bit to the sizes you actually cut. The #4 — the 48-89-9234 set and the SHOCKWAVE 48-89-9244 — runs 3/16in to 7/8in, the general-purpose range for panel work, brackets and small pass-throughs. The 48-89-9208 #8 steps from 1/2in to 1in in 1/16in increments, so it is the one to reach for when you need a specific in-between diameter. The 48-89-9209 #9 and the 48-89-9239 set cut 7/8in and 1-1/8in, which line up with the knockout sizes electricians hit most often. The 48-89-9211 tops out at 1-7/32in and the 48-89-9212 at 1-3/8in.

How you run a step bit decides how long it lasts. Slower speed, steady pressure, and let the step do the cutting. High RPM in steel burns the cutting edge fast. Use cutting fluid on steel and stainless, back the panel where you can, and stop as soon as you reach the diameter you want. Deburr afterwards — a step bit leaves a lip on the back side of thin stock.

Masonry is a different job. The 48-20-9052 carbide hammer drill bit kit is for concrete, brick and block, run in hammer mode. Do not use a masonry bit in steel or a metal bit in concrete; the geometry is wrong in both directions.

Picking a SHOCKWAVE socket set: drive size, deep or standard, SAE or metric

Start with drive size, because that decides which tool the set lives on. The 3/8in drive sets — the 49-66-7007 metric standard set and the 49-66-6800 17-piece SAE PACKOUT set — suit smaller fasteners and tight spaces, and pair naturally with a compact impact wrench. The 1/2in drive sets are for heavier work: lugs, suspension, structural bolts, anything where 3/8in feels undersized.

Then deep or standard. Deep sockets reach down over a protruding stud or a long bolt, which is most of the reason to own them. Standard-length sockets sit closer to the fastener and fit where there is no room overhead. Most of the deep sets here are deep for that reason; the 49-66-7007 is the standard-length option.

All of these are 6-point. A 6-point socket contacts the flats of the fastener rather than the corners, so it is less likely to round off a tight or rusted nut. On impact work that is worth having.

SAE or metric is not a preference, it is what you work on. Domestic trucks, a lot of construction hardware and older equipment run SAE. Most imports and most modern machinery run metric. If you genuinely cross both, buy one of each rather than trying to make a near-size fit — that is how fasteners get rounded.

One safety point that is easy to skip. Impact sockets are made for impact tools. Chrome hand sockets are not, and putting one on an impact wrench risks cracking it. Everything in the SHOCKWAVE socket range here is impact duty, which is exactly why it belongs on the gun instead of a chrome set from the toolbox drawer.