Archie,

He's just trying to do two things: get an appropriate calcium ion (Ca++) concentration (to support the alpha amylase) and bring the pH to around 5.8. Since everybody's water is different, calling for specific amounts is meaningless. To get the proper Ca++ concentration, you'll need to know what you're starting with ... sorry, there's no way around that.

For your Ca++ you can use a combination of Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulphate (Gypsum). Both of these will bring your pH down.

To get your pH to where Smiley suggests you could just use citric acid (or squeeze the juice from a lemon)... or get a pH buffer (which will probably bring it a little lower than he suggests). You may even want to consider lactic acid. If you overshoot, you can use chalk (Calcium Carbonate) to bring it back up. In any case, too much calcium is bad ... it can actually interfere with the alpha amylase activity. That's why knowing your water is a good thing. I've used small amounts of baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) as well as Potassium Bicarbonate to bring the pH back up without any problems.

You should be able to get all of the above chemicals from your LHBS (except for the baking soda ... which you can find in your grocery store) ... they're all pretty cheap. Just make small additions, then measure between each addition. The first few times through the process might be a PITA. After you've done it a few times, it'll be easier as you'll know how much you need. You can always experiment with just the water (no grains) to get a feel for what happens.

Regards,
--JB

PS - I wouldn't go messing around with sulphuric acid. It might be fine in an industrial environment ... but at home? In my opinion it's unnecessary.