Refill friction stir spot welding was applied to weld similar thin AA 7075‐T6 aluminum alloy sheets in a spot‐like joint configuration without a keyhole. The welds were produced using a small tool consisting of sleeve and probe with diameters of 6 mm and 4 mm, respectively. Design of experiment was employed to optimize the welding parameters in terms of the cross tensile strength by using Box Behnken Design. Based on analysis of variance, it can be concluded that plunge depth strongly affects the mechanical performance of the weld. Optimal welding parameters in terms of rotational speed, plunge depth and speed are identified to reach a cross tensile strength of up to 660 N.