MrSmith and Tommy, you've both done your homework well.
As one of you pointed out earlier (I can't be arsed to check who) TIG requires more skill.
A skillful welder wanting to do a good job will choose TIG. There are more factors to vary (distance of gun from workpiece, distance of filler from workpiece, speed at which gun and filler are moved along workpiece, rate at which filler is fed in to weld area) but the potential for a stronger neater weld is greater. MIG (afaik - its been a while since I did any welding) has the feed rate of the electrode/filler fixed, so the rate of traversal of the workpiece is the only variable and hence easier to get right, however, it is harder to keep a constant distance between electrode/filler and workpiece especially when the workpiece is uneven - as the electrode is the filler, as it is consumed, distance between electrode and workpiece varies producing a poorer weld - something that is less likely to happen when a skilled welder uses TIG.
Having said that, the angle of the nozzle to the workpiece can also play a part and can affect spatter and porosity of the weld. The idea is to get a good pocket of gas around the weld area so as to prevent the weld from oxidising. AFAIK there is no reason why a MIG weld cant be as strong as a TIG weld, but an unskilled welder will get better results with MIG than TIG.
Use of TIG is also a bit of a status symbol. If you can weld well with TIG you are demonstrating your skill as a welder.
MrSmith and Tommy, you've both done your homework well.
As one of you pointed out earlier (I can't be arsed to check who) TIG requires more skill.
A skillful welder wanting to do a good job will choose TIG. There are more factors to vary (distance of gun from workpiece, distance of filler from workpiece, speed at which gun and filler are moved along workpiece, rate at which filler is fed in to weld area) but the potential for a stronger neater weld is greater. MIG (afaik - its been a while since I did any welding) has the feed rate of the electrode/filler fixed, so the rate of traversal of the workpiece is the only variable and hence easier to get right, however, it is harder to keep a constant distance between electrode/filler and workpiece especially when the workpiece is uneven - as the electrode is the filler, as it is consumed, distance between electrode and workpiece varies producing a poorer weld - something that is less likely to happen when a skilled welder uses TIG.
Having said that, the angle of the nozzle to the workpiece can also play a part and can affect spatter and porosity of the weld. The idea is to get a good pocket of gas around the weld area so as to prevent the weld from oxidising. AFAIK there is no reason why a MIG weld cant be as strong as a TIG weld, but an unskilled welder will get better results with MIG than TIG.
Use of TIG is also a bit of a status symbol. If you can weld well with TIG you are demonstrating your skill as a welder.