What is your opinion.

[KustomsbyKent]

Holt,
When you say shot peening, you are referring to using tiny steel balls to blast at the surface of the metal?

If so, I have seen some large industrial size ones at factories in China, and it is a completely different design than a regular sandblasting cabinet. The steel shot is slung at the parts using spinning impellers, and the entire cabinet is completely enclosed in steel. You hang the parts inside the compartment, close and lock the doors, and then turn on the impellers to blast the steel shot at the parts. The parts are typically on a rottissory, so they get rotated around to get all sides blasted.

Please be very careful if you are going to try this at home, as the steel shot bounces back with high energy, and will go through any clear plastic or glass windows in a regular sandblaster. It will also do a number on the thin sheetmetal that is typically used in a sandblasting cabinet.
The steel cabinets for shot peening that I have seen are constructed of thick steel, and looks more like something to contain a the blast from a bomb.

If you are planning to shot peen, I can post some pics of the industrial ones that I have seen, just let me know.

Hopefully that helps.