I have a desk in my house that belonged to my grandpa - it was old when I was a kid, and I'm in my 50's. When I had it stripped, I was told it was ash, and your dresser looks very similar. It's beautiful wood!

I have been told that Ash is a cheaper wood than oak and it has the same look--so that's what lead me to think that's what it is. I bought it at a garage sale for $5.00 just thinking it was a cheap dresser for my guest bedroom. I tried to paint it twice--first teal and then white. The paint never stuck, though. There was about five layers of paint, not including the manufacturers coat of white, to get through when stripping it.

I think it was worth it, though.

Ash is as dense as oak, so if the whole thing is light, it's probably not solid ash. Maybe ash veneer, but I haven't seen ash veneer much. More likely oak, birch, etc.

The grain on the drawers looks very familiar, but I just can't place it.

Looks like alder to me. I used to have a similar dresser and I know it was alder.

This website has a dresser that looks identical to me:

http://www.furnitureunfinished.com/product_info.php?cPath=116_135&products_id=366.

They say theirs is made of alder and red birch.

I'd guess the red birch is plywood backing and drawer bottoms.

Definitely not ash. I'm betting on alder.