You can try masking and hand sanding which is incredibly time consuming
or consider a random orbital sander. It's essentially the same problem as
dealing with a parquet floor.

Good Luck.

"Tom Sikes" wrote in message
...
I'm wondering how best to sand a hardwood floor that has a thick (3/8")
inlay in it. This inlay has pieces that are both parallel and
perpendicular
to the grain of the floor. Because of its thickness I'm not concerned
about
sanding through it but I'm concerned about sanding the parts that are
cross
grain to the floor.

Does anyone have any experience with this and can offer some advice?